


Table Pins

by bethonie (Formula_Tea)



Series: Table Pins [1]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: AU, Domestic Violence, F/M, Gangsters, Hospitals, M/M, Mentions of attempted suicide, mentions of self harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-22
Updated: 2015-01-19
Packaged: 2018-02-22 05:09:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 70
Words: 110,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2495624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Formula_Tea/pseuds/bethonie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elevency (a fictional town I place most of my stories) has been in a carefully balanced truce for over a year, but all this could be thrown away when a drunk driver puts someone in hospital and Nico and Kimi, who's protection the town is under, have to work together to find out who is trying to break the truce neither of them want to abide by.</p><p>The good news is, there's more to come.<br/>The bad news is, this now looks like it's part of a series.<br/>I am very sorry for what has occurred.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In which Rob does the school run and Nico gets some coffee

**Author's Note:**

> This is maybe a little bad, but I've been writing it, so your criticism would be useful. :)  
> Also, this one of two pieces I'm working on, and updates are unlikely to be as often as usual (once a week maybe?)
> 
> Also thought I should mention that I think I may have made Emily a little bit older than she actually is, just because my time line was getting a little bunched up and I needed to spread stuff out.

“I bet I’m faster than you!”

Without even waiting for a reply, Felipinho launched down the street, slipping in an out of the other parents on the way home from school. Rob wasn’t too worried. He knew how far he could go and he never went any further than that.

“Do you think he’s eating alright? I bet he’s not. Do you think I should go and ask?”

Rob rolled his eyes and didn’t turn to the voices behind him. He was sick of them fussing over him. Of course he knew they only meant well but it was becoming annoying now. He couldn’t even do the school run without them asking a million questions.

_How are you coping?_

_How’s Felipe doing?_

_Have you got anyone at home with you?_

_If you ever need anything just ask._

He’d had weeks of the same questions and, unsurprisingly, none of the answers ever changed.

“Rob?”

Something made him stop. He should have just carried on walking and ignored whoever it was, because stopping to talk to them wasn’t going to change anything for anyone, but he stopped and, taking a deep breath, spun around.

Hanna gave him a weak smile and a shrug. The other parents flowed around them and Emily bouncing violently in the pushchair, wanted to go home. Rob sighed.

“You look awful,” Hanna said.

Rob actually laughed in surprise. That hadn’t been what he had expected.

Emily got her own way and they began walking slowly down the street.

“I’m fine,” Rob lied.

“Really?” Hanna asked.

Rob nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets. He scanned the crowd for Felipinho, more to keep his eyes away from Hanna’s instead of looking out for the child.

“We’re all really worried about you,” she said.

“I know,” Rob said, bobbing his head a little as if in agreement, but he didn’t agree. They were all just looking for gossip. Maybe not Hanna. They’d been something like friends since before Emily was born and he genuinely believed she meant well.

“I really am sorry,” Hanna said, falling back on the same phrase they all fell back on. “I’ve no idea what you’re going through.”

“I’m fine,” Rob lied again.

“Has Felipe…?”

Rob shook his head, knowing how the question would finish: the same way it had been finishing for nearly two weeks.

Hanna smiled sadly. There wasn’t really much you could say to that.

“I’m sorry,” she said, again.

“It’s not your fault,” Rob said, quietly, even though he knew nobody ever said that because they thought it was their fault. “There was nothing anybody could do.”

That was a lie and he knew it. The idiot could have chosen to not get in the car. He could have chosen to stop and help. He could have chosen for this to not happen.

Rob bit his lip at the thought and sighed, then shook his head again.

“I’m fine.”

“Do you want to come back to mine?” Hanna asked. “Seb’s out. I’ll make tea and kids can play.”

Rob shook his head. “I’m dropping Pea off with Valtteri and heading back to the hospital.”

Hanna nodded. It was good he had someone there at the house, even if it was just a member of staff. She’d been worried about him, more than she would ever admit to Rob or even Sebastian.

They caught up with Felipinho at the end of the street.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Rob said with a small smile, watching Hanna push Emily up the path towards the place they called home. He sighed when they were out of sight and looked down at Felipinho, who grinned up at him.

“I told you I was faster than you.”

 

Lewis had been _clingy_ since it happened, and Nico was glad to get out of their house for a couple of hours without him. The tension had been building for months before it all kicked off, but now it was even worse. He knew how to deal with Lewis when he was angry or annoyed or in a foul mood, but when he was like this- Nico felt like he couldn’t breathe and it was beginning to annoy him.

“Long time no see,” Jenson said, grinning when Nico walked into the small café. If Lewis found out he had come here, it was probably only going to make him worse. Or angry. Maybe that was it. This was to get them back to normal.

And he missed Jenson far more than he thought he would ever miss someone.

“Haven’t been able to leave the house,” Nico said, sliding onto one of the stools at the coffee bar Jenson was stood behind.

“I thought you were leaving him?” Jenson asked, making Nico’s usual drink as he spoke.

Nico groaned at the reminder. He’d thought the same. “There’s been a change in circumstance.”

“He’s not pregnant is he?” Jenson joked. He had his back to Nico and didn’t see the tired lines that were creasing his face.

“He knows about us,” Nico said, quietly.

“And?” That had been the plan, after all.

“He went out and got drunk,” Nico said, his voice dropping to barely more than a murmur. He knew he shouldn’t be saying this aloud, but if he didn’t confide in someone, he was going to go mad, and if he couldn’t trust Jenson then he couldn’t trust anyone. “He phoned me when he was drunk out of his skull going on about starting again and…”

Jenson put the coffee down in front of him, waiting for the end patiently now he could see how worried his friend was.

Nico nodded and sighed, wishing Jenson would end the sentence for him. He knew Jenson knew all the gossip that went on in this town. He’d put two and two together and-

“It was him, wasn’t it?”

“He was drunk and upset,” Nico said, but he didn’t know why he was defending him. This was just going to cause them all so much trouble, and he could do without dealing with all this again.

“ _Nico_?”

“I know,” Nico mumbled, taking his coffee and peering into it.

“What are you going to do?”

Nico shrugged. “Wait for this to all die down.” There wasn’t much else he could do. If anyone thought that someone close to him had broken the truce – even if he knew it was an accident - they were all going to be in trouble.

“Rob’s really screwed up about this, you know,” Jenson said. “He could have hit the kid.”

“I know,” Nico said. “What else can I do?”

Jenson shrugged. Once again, Lewis was causing a mess. Where had he heard that story before?

“You could talk to Rob,” he suggested. “He’s really cut up about this. You know how he is with the strays.”

“Talk to Rob,” Nico muttered. “Rob who’s friends with Vettel? Hmmm, there might be a problem with that plan.”

Jenson held up his hands and stepped back. “Just a suggestion. You’re the one that knows what to do.”

Nico sighed and drank his coffee so he didn’t have to answer. If only that was true.

 

“The doctors keep saying I should talk to you. I keep telling them you don’t listen to me even when I know you can hear me, so I don’t know what good that will do. They said it will do good. I don’t know if they’re talking about for you or for me. Valtteri is getting pretty good with Pea. He’s not so moody about looking after him. Your kid could win over anybody, I swear. They still don’t know who did this, sunshine. They’re saying they don’t think they’re going to find out. I don’t know what to do. What are we paying Räikkönen and Rosberg for anyway, if they’re just going to let this kind of thing happen? I just don’t know. What am I supposed to say, anyway? It’s going to be ok. You’re going to be ok.”


	2. In which Sebastian is drunk, Hanna is in a state, and Lewis isn't Lewis.

Kimi gently traced over the faint scars on Sebastian’s wrist, the younger man’s head heavy on his chest now he was asleep. Kimi knew he shouldn’t have let him fall asleep, but sometimes it seemed like the only time he wasn’t worried was when he was sleeping, and he’d been in a funny mood all evening.

On the table beside the bed, Sebastian’s mobile lit up, casting an eerie blue light across the room. Trying not to wake him, Kimi leaned across the bed and peered at the display. Hanna.

He sighed, but there were rules and he knew this. Seb had Emily and that, for the moment, meant he had to have Hanna too.

“Seb,” Kimi said, half heartedly trying to wake him up. “Seb, come on.”

Sebastian mumbled something, but only shifted closer to him.

“Come on,” he said, shifting Sebastian off of him. “She’ll be worried if you don’t go back, and you know it.”

“Can’t go back,” Sebastian mumbled, sleepily, trying to pull himself closer to Kimi when Kimi pushed him away. “Don’t love her.”

“I know you don’t, Seb,” Kimi murmured, pushing himself up and off of the bed and dragging Sebastian with him. “But you love Emily.”

“Hmmm,” Sebastian muttered. “But she won’t let me have her.”

“Yep, that’s why you need to get going,” Kimi said, pulling Sebastian to his feet. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to let him drink so much, but when Sebastian wanted something, far too often, he got it.

“She doesn’t love me anymore because I don’t love her,” Sebastian muttered as Kimi tried to pull the German’s top over his head.

Kimi stopped, loosening his grip on Sebastian enough for him to fall a little into the wall and Kimi had to catch him again.

“What do you mean?”

“Knows I don’t love her,” Sebastian muttered. “Thinks I blame her. I don’t, but she won’t listen. Don’t think she cares. I think she wants me to blame her. Then she won’t feel guilty. Then she won’t be the one leaving the suicidal nutter. But I do. Love her I mean. I mean… I don’t know. Kimi? I’m drunk.”

“I know you are,” Kimi said, leading him back to the bed. He couldn’t help the small sigh of relief. Hanna didn’t know. Sebastian was just being paranoid.

There was no way he was going to send him back to her in this state, though. He hadn’t realised quite how drunk Sebastian was. Sometimes he forgot how much of a lightweight the kid was.

Once Sebastian was safely tucked in bed, Kimi took his own phone from the bedside table with the intention of phoning Hanna. This wasn’t the first time Sebastian had wound up staying the night at his, even if he tried to prevent it from happening too often. She liked to know where he was and, after everything they’d been through, he didn’t blame her.

Before he could ring the number, though, the small message symbol popped up in the top corner of the screen, the sender’s name displayed for a second before disappearing. Kimi sighed and, sitting on the edge of the bed opened the message.

Within two sentences, the quiet little life Kimi was finally getting used to exploded again.

 

When Nico finally returned home, all the lights were off and, for a moment, he thought Lewis had gone to bed, but the glow from the television set spilled into the hall from the front room and there was Lewis, curled up on the sofa like he had been for nearly two weeks.

“Nico?”

Nico groaned silently as he hung his coat up in the hallway, not bothering to answer the call. This was not the Lewis he knew. That cocky, arrogant little shit hadn’t been there since the accident.

“Nico?” he called again when Nico didn’t answer.

He sounded so small. When this all began, that would have broken Nico’s heart, but he was used to it now. Immune to it. Sick of it.

He gave Lewis a small smile when he sat on the opposite end of the sofa from him. Lewis shifted closer, like Nico knew he would, and brushed Nico’s hair out of his face to press a kiss against his cheek.

“I was worried about you,” Lewis whispered. “They’re talking about riots on the news again.”

“They’re just making a big fuss over nothing,” Nico insisted, trying to keep in the here and now. “There are a couple of people asking questions, that’s all.”

There were a couple of people asking why this had happened when he and Räikkönen were supposed to be keeping them safe, between them. It _was_ just another one of the tramps Rob Smedley was boarding, but this was the kind of thing he was supposed to stop happening or, failing that, find who was behind it.

“I screwed everything up,” Lewis mumbled.

This wasn’t _Lewis_. _Lewis_ would never have admitted to having the blame. _Lewis_ would have found someone, _anyone_ , else to blame. He would have said it was his fault, or Jenson’s, or maybe even Felipe’s. _Lewis_ wouldn’t have taken the blame.

“Yeah,” Nico admitted, because he was sick of telling him otherwise. “But I’ll sort it, ok? You go up to bed, hey babe? You sleep and I’ll sort this out.”  


Rob had barely slept again, but at least he’d managed to close his eyes this time. He was getting better. Accepting it. No, that wasn’t the right word. He wasn’t _accepting_ anything. He wasn’t getting used to anything.

He felt like he had only just drifted off to sleep when he was woken by banging on the door again. He jumped up, out of his bed and out of the beginnings of a dream that he would rather not have been having.

Whoever was at the door was still hammering as Rob made his way down the stairs. Before he could open the door, the tell tale signs of little feet on the landing drew his eyes back up the stairs.

“Go back to bed, Pea,” Rob said, quietly, watching the child rub his eyes.

“Is Daddy back?” he asked, quietly.

“Not yet, Pea, no,” Rob said. “Go back to bed.”

“Who is it?” Felipinho asked, picking and choosing what he listened to.

“Nobody,” Rob said. “Just someone from work, ok? Go back to bed.”

“Ok,” Felipinho mumbled, shuffling back out of sight to go to his room.

Rob sighed and finally addressed the knocking at the door.

Hanna was in tears, Emily sleeping in the pushchair at the bottom of the steps. Rob instinctively wrapped his arms around her and Hanna fell into him, sobbing into his chest.

“He didn’t come back last night,” Hanna said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know where else to go or what to do and what if he’s left again?”

Rob just held her, because there was nothing else he could do. He’d been so sure Sebastian had been getting better. He’d been getting help. But anything could have happened in the past two weeks and he wouldn’t have known about it.

“Calm down,” Rob said after a few moments, weary of the fact that he knew Felipinho would be lurking out of sight on the landing. “Where did he go last night?”

“He-he went out with Kimi Räikkönen,” Hanna said, trying to calm herself down, but it wasn’t working. “I don’t know where they went?”

“Have you spoken to Räikkönen?”

“Are you mad?” Hanna asked, shaking a little.

“Help me bring Emily inside, and you can sit down,” Rob said, leading Hanna back outside.

“I don’t want to sit down,” Hanna snapped. “I want to find out where he is. He was in such a state last night, Rob. I don’t know. I just…”

“Come inside,” Rob insisted. “Whatever’s happened, we can sort it, ok?”

Hanna nodded silently and stood awkwardly a little inside the house. When Rob went down to bring Emily in her pushchair up the stairs, she just stood and watched. Emily was, thankfully, still sleeping by the time she was up the stairs, and Rob left the child and pushchair in the front hall before bringing Hanna into the living room.

“Tell me what happened, ok?”

“He’s in a state,” Hanna said, letting Rob guide her to the sofa and sit down with her. “I don’t know. I think he had an argument with Dan or something. He wasn’t making any sense and then he wouldn’t say anything. He just went quiet. Then he went out with Kimi. I _knew_ he was going out with Kimi. But then he didn’t come back last night and normally if he’s staying out the night he texts or Kimi texts or somebody lets me know and I tried to phone him this morning and I got no answer and what if he’s gone again, Rob? I can’t go through that again.”

“It’ll be ok,” Rob said, quietly, sitting beside Hanna. “You keep trying Seb, and I’ll phone Kimi. They’re probably both still asleep or so hung over they can’t talk. Maybe you should go home, hey? In case he comes back. Are you ok to be there alone or do you want me to come with you?”

“I should be fine. I’m just- fuck, I shouldn’t be bothering you with this. You’ve got enough on your plate.”

“No, it’s fine,” Rob insisted. “I told you I’d be there for you and I will be. I’ll walk with you back to yours. Let me just get dressed, hey?”

“You don’t have to.”

“I do,” Rob insisted as he stood up. “Valtteri will watch Pea. It’ll be fine, I promise.”

 

Even though Nico had a tendency to wake up early, he’d recently been waking to find himself in an empty bed. The house was always quiet at this time in the morning, but now the usual sound of Lewis’ breathing was gone. He was up already. There was a glimmer of hope in the back of Nico’s mind that he’d gone out, but that was almost immediately distinguished now.

At what point they’d changed places and he’d become the strong one, he didn’t know. It all came back to the accident but that hadn’t really been out of the blue. They’d both been an accident waiting to happen for weeks before.

“Good morning,” Lewis said with a weak smile on Nico’s entry into the kitchen.

“Morning,” Nico said, noticing how more cheerful Lewis was as he sat down at the small table, but he didn’t want to say anything. He didn’t want to get his hopes up.

“I’m making breakfast,” Lewis said, nodding to the pans on the hob.

“I can see that,” Nico said, cautiously. This was definitely not back to normal.

“I’m making eggs.”

“I can see that.”

“How many do you want?” Lewis asked, his smile falling away from his eyes a little and Nico could see nothing had changed. He was trying, though. He couldn’t really do much else.

“Just one, please,” Nico said, quietly.

This was all his fault, really. He should have ended this all months ago. He should never have let it get as far as it did, but he was trapped here now. He couldn’t really leave Lewis whilst he was in this state and most of the town wanted to wring his neck, even if they didn’t know it.

Lewis finished cooking the breakfasts in silence and sat opposite Nico as he served the food. Nico smiled at him weakly, his mind elsewhere and in no way capable of starting a conversation. He had always left that to Lewis, and he still wasn’t used to the silence they always found themselves in.

Five minutes into the silent meal, Nico was saved by the phone out in the hallway and, without even bothering to make his excuses, dashed over to get it.

“Nico?”

“Yeah, Kevin, it’s me,” Nico said, falling into the small armchair they had beside the phone. Kevin had been Nico’s right hand man for a few years and, alongside Jenson, was one of the few people he knew he could trust. Phone calls this early in the morning weren’t usually a good thing, though.

“I’ve just gotten off of the phone with Räikkönen,” Kevin said, slowly.

Nico winced. Kevin didn’t know Lewis was the driver. Nobody knew. Räikkönen definitely didn’t know.

“And?”

“He wouldn’t tell me much,” Kevin said. “You know him better than I do. He just said he needed to speak to you, and that it was important.”

“What is it about?” Nico asked, but Kevin was right. He did know Räikkönen and he knew his second in command wouldn’t know.

“He wouldn’t say,” Kevin confirmed. “Probably about the hit and run. He’s been getting as much stick about this as you have.”

Nico sighed. This really wasn’t what he needed right now. He could cope with Lewis, or he could cope with the business. He didn’t really have the energy for both.

“Did he say when or where or am I supposed to get that information telepathically?” he asked.

“The bar on East Street,” Kevin said. “Today at three.”

Where else? Nico was pretty sure one of Räikkönen’s ‘friends’ ran the bar. If not, it would be one of the places the Finn frequented. There were very few bars he didn’t frequent.

“Is that ok with you?” Kevin asked.

“It doesn’t really look like I’ve got a choice,” Nico said. That wasn’t on. They were supposed to be equals. That was what this peaceful state was built on. But every time they, for some reason, needed to meet, Nico was never the one calling the shots. But he wouldn’t risk the peace to play Räikkönen’s game. He had better things to do. “I’ll be there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry:  
> a) For the long-ish chapter  
> b) For it being absolutely awful.  
> Like I said. I *know* it's terrible, but it's sat on my laptop and I don't want to feel like I'm wasting time with it.  
> Comments always welcome.


	3. In which everyone's worried and Kimi forgets to tell Hanna something important

It was only when Sebastian started to stir in the late morning that Kimi realised he hadn’t let Hanna know. Putting his personal phone on silent so that he wasn’t disturbed whilst he worked was a very bad idea, he realised when he checked to see if there were any messages. Besides the missed calls he had from Rob Smedley, which had become the norm recently and Kimi dismissed them without thinking about it, there were at least a dozen phone calls and even more texts from the mother of his lover’s child.

“Where- Kimi?” Sebastian moaned as he pushed himself up on the bed, wincing as the light from the window crashed onto his face. He sank back into the blankets, peering out at Kimi from under the covers.

Kimi sat on the end of the bed, tapping his phone against his chin. He was going to have to phone Hanna. Or go to see her.

“Morning,” he said with a lopsided smile, watching Sebastian squirm under the covers. “How’s your head?”

“How are you ok?” Sebastian moaned, squeezing his eyes shut.

“You had far more than me last night anyway,” Kimi lied. “Don’t worry. I phoned Hanna.”

Reassuring him so quickly shouldn’t have come as naturally as it did, but Kimi had grown used to it now. Sebastian had a tendency to panic and feel guilty about everything and that was the last thing Kimi wanted to see.

“She’s going to be so annoyed,” Seb mumbled, pulling the covers completely around him so he was nothing more than a lump in the bed.

To Kimi, it seemed like Hanna was an increasing reason for Sebastian’s anxiety. Not that it made any sense to him, as Hanna was as gentle and caring with Sebastian as was humanly possible; a much more suitable lover than he was. He didn’t understand why she made Sebastian feel the way he did, or even if it was Hanna’s fault. He didn’t understand a lot of Sebastian. But he was trying.

“I’m going to go and see her now,” Kimi said. It would be easier than doing it on the phone, whilst Sebastian could listen. “Stay here and go back to sleep.”

There was only a muffled groan in protest, and Kimi ignored it.

“I won’t be long, ok?” he said. He crossed the room and pulled the covers away from Sebastian. The German blinked up at him, his bottom lip stuck out in a pout.

“Love you,” Sebastian said, quietly.

“Love you too.”

 

“You should be at the hospital,” Hanna said as they returned to her house after dropping the children at school and nursery.

“They’ll phone me if anything happens,” Rob said, flicking the kettle on as if it were a reflex.

Hanna fell into one of the chairs in the kitchen and pulled her phone out of her pocket again. No. In the two seconds since she had last checked, she hadn’t had any messages. He’d left her. He’d gone again.

“I should have known earlier,” she whispered, trying not to cry again.

“This is not your fault,” Rob insisted, even though he had no idea how many times he had said that and couldn’t think of one time the person he was telling had believed him. “You said he was fighting with Dan. Have you phoned him?”

Hanna rolled his eyes and Rob knew he was being an idiot but he couldn’t think of much else to do. Nobody had trained him to be a comforter. He’d learned on the job. And usually providing a house was a big enough comfort.

“He wouldn’t go,” Rob said. He didn’t add the fact that there was nowhere else he could go, because he knew that was exactly what had happened last time and that was exactly what Hanna was worried about. “I bet he’s with Räikkönen.”

“He always phones,” Hanna muttered.

The kettle boiled and Rob made tea as a distraction so he didn’t have to say anything. What could he say?

“I’m sorry,” she said when Rob handed her the drink. “You’ve got enough to worry about.”

“No, I’m not having that again,” Rob said. “If you want me here, I’ll be here. Besides, I don’t think Felipe is going anywhere anytime soon, ok?”

He managed a weak smile as he said it but the joke physically hurt. Hanna returned the smile with tears in her eyes and whispered a thank you.

If he woke up whilst Rob wasn’t there, though, he didn’t think he’d ever forgive himself.

But if Hanna needed him, he’d be there for her. That was what he had promised her when she’d first arrived into his care and that was what he had promised himself when he set up the Halfway Homes, a group of private units that were lent to families with nowhere else to go.

“What do I do?” she asked, looking into her tea. “What if he doesn’t come back? I can’t do this by myself. Not again.”

Rob sighed and put his own tea down so he could hold Hanna’s hands. “Firstly, he will come back, ok? There is nothing in this world that would make me think Sebastian doesn’t love you and Emily enough to stick around. Secondly, even if that wasn’t the case, you wouldn’t be alone. You’ve got me. And I know you’ve got a whole bunch of friends that are there for you.”

“I know but I need _him_ ,” Hanna said, her bottom lip wobbling again. “And you don’t know him anymore. He’s different around me. He doesn’t…”

“And I know that isn’t true,” Rob said with a weak laugh. “He adores you.”

Hanna just shook her head again and pulled her hands away so she could put her drink down and wipe her eyes.

“What’s got you thinking this then, hey?” Rob asked, when she didn’t answer. “What’s got you in this state?”

Before she could answer, if she had any intention of doing so, the doorbell echoed through the house, making them both jump. Hanna wiped her eyes quickly as she rushed to answer the door, leaving Rob to peer down the front hall from the kitchen.

“Kimi?”

Kimi liked Hanna. He always had. She was kind, innocent, and, most importantly to him, she cared about Sebastian. Her entire world revolved about him and their daughter.

But he was Kimi Räikkönen, and none of that really mattered.

“Hanna?” he asked, when she just stood in the doorway, staring at him.

“Oh, come in,” Hanna said, quickly, standing aside to let him in. She noticed the distinct absence of Sebastian and tried her best not to burst into tears again.

He was gone. He really had gone.

“Are you ok?” Kimi asked, his voice void of concern, but the question alone was odd enough.

Hanna shook her head. “Seb’s gone missing. He didn’t come home last night. I’ve no idea where he is and I’ve been ringing and ringing and he’s not been replying and Rob made me phone you, but then you didn’t answer and I can’t say I expected you to. I didn’t really know what to expect. I just needed him to be with you and he isn’t.”

Kimi stood, dumb struck in the hallway, and he knew instantly why Sebastian was always worried about upsetting her. Hanna leaned against the wall and tried to wipe her eyes again, but it was useless. Her tears were like waterfalls now and there was no way she could stop them.

Down the hallway, Rob edged out of the kitchen, tea in hand.

Kimi was surprised at that. The last thing he had heard, Rob hardly ever even left the hospital.

“It’ll be ok,” Rob was saying. “He probably went to Dan’s to apologise and then…”

His voice trailed off because he was still trying to form the end of his idea. He’d been so sure Seb would be with Räikkönen.

“Apologise?” Kimi asked, against his better judgement.

“He had a… a fight with Dan,” Hanna said. “Dan said he hadn’t seen him since yesterday morning. He said I should try talking to you.”

“What did he have a fight about?” Kimi said, struggling to keep the emotion out of his voice now. Dan was Seb’s rock. And the only one who actually knew about the two of them. If they’d fallen out…

“I don’t know,” Hanna said. “I asked Dan but he said it wasn’t his place. It must have been something serious. Didn’t Seb say last night? God, he did see you last night, didn’t he?”

That explained Sebastian’s funny attitude last night, but Kimi had better things to be doing than dealing with a hysterical woman right now. Rob seemed to have that as in control as one person could have.

“I have to see Dan,” Kimi said and, without any further explanation, left, the door slamming closed behind him.

Hanna sank to the floor, bringing her knees to her chest and biting her lip to stop herself from crying.

He was really gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you read to the end, thanks for putting up with this. :)


	4. In which Kimi's late for a meeting and I didn't think through the two Dans

There was no order to the chaos that was Daniel Ricciardo, and his housemate - lodger, strictly speaking – had long since stopped looking for any. Even Daniel’s work hours were beginning to confuse the young Russian who claimed to live in the same house as him. One day he’d be at home until four in the afternoon, the next he’d be out all day. Daniil had given up trying to understand his landlord’s messy time table, and simply accepted that sometimes the Australian was there and sometimes he wasn’t.

When a very annoyed looking Finn hammered on their door and proceeded to barge his way inside when Daniil opened the door, Daniel wasn’t in.

“When will he be back?” Räikkönen asked when Daniil informed him of this fact.

“Don’t know,” Daniil said. “He’s at work.”

“He’s not at work,” Kimi said, trying to keep his cool because the last thing he needed right now was to add ‘explaining why he beat up a kid’ to his to do list. “He works for me and, as I am asking where he is, I think we can safely assume he is not at work.”

“Then I don’t know where he is,” Daniil said, quickly. Even having only lived in the seemingly quiet little town for only a few months, he knew how things worked. Between them, Kimi Räikkönen and Nico Rosberg ran the town. You didn’t mess with them and, if you caused problems, you had them to answer to.

“He had a fight yesterday, with Sebastian Vettel. Do you know what it was about?”

“A fight with Vettel?” Daniil asked, confused.

“Do you know what it was about or not?” Kimi asked.

“They never fight,” Daniil said. If there was one thing he had learned about his landlord it was how close he was to Sebastian – a fact he still wished he hadn’t learned.

Kimi sighed, impatiently.

“I don’t know,” Daniil said. “Who told you they fort? They probably got the wrong end of the stick.”

Kimi left without answering. Daniil was a little too relieved about that.

 

Surprise, surprise, Räikkönen was late.

Nico had been waiting outside for fifteen minutes. The bar wasn’t open yet, but Nico could see the owner through the windows, drying up glasses from the night before, and he knew he could just walk right in, even if this was technically Räikkönen’s territory. But being the only one in the bar, he might have been expected to make conversation and he didn’t really think he was ready for that, not with someone who was firmly on Räikkönen’s side of the town’s split.

But after fifteen minutes of peering down the street and waiting for the Finn to appear, Nico had had enough, and he went inside.

Alonso’s was one of the classier bars in the small town, not exactly the kind of hovel Nico liked to imagine Räikkönen spending his evenings in. Everything was a little out of place in the unusual lighting. When it was open for custom the lights would be much softer.

“You are here to see Kimi?” the owner asked, his words barely understandable behind his accent.

“Yeah,” Nico said, letting the door swing shut behind him. It occurred to him that he trusted Räikkönen far too much and he should have at least had somebody there with him, but he highly doubted Räikkönen would want to be the first one to break the truce. Nobody wanted to be that person.

“Has said he was running a little late,” the owner said, putting away another glass. “Can I get you something whilst you wait? Drink? Coffee?”

“Coffee, please,” Nico said, approaching the bar. “It’s Alonso isn’t it?”

“Si,” he said. “Fernando.”

“I’m-.”

“Know who you are,” Fernando said with a small laugh. “Is difficult to live around here and not know.”

Nico sighed and shrugged. It was only to be expected. The ‘mobs’ didn’t have as much as a presence as they had done when his father had been in charge, but they were still there.

“Have you found the driver?” Fernando asked when he finished Nico’s drink, sliding it across the bar towards him before returning the drying the glasses. “For the hit and run I mean?”

Nico shook his head. It still annoyed him how quickly and thoroughly news spread in the small town, but it had been two weeks and it was unlikely there was anybody who hadn’t heard about the accident. “I’m looking. Might not have even been from around here.”

“You have to find out who did it though, no?” Fernando said.

“We’ll find who did it,” Nico said, bringing the drink to his lips. “They can’t hide forever.”

He was saved of any further explanation by the arrival of Räikkönen. He, even now, always stunned Nico a little. Nico who could spend hours getting ready was always a little in awe of how much his counterpart didn’t give a shit and still managed to look good regardless. He would always deny it if anyone ever inquired, but in that aspect of life he was a little jealous of the Finn. That was all he admired though. He hated the way Räikkönen dealt with issues. He hated the way he treated people. He hated the way Räikkönen didn’t seem to care. That was probably what had prompted the fall out in the first place. But that was all water under the bridge now. For now.

“Fernando,” Räikkönen said, but the barman was already sliding a glass across the counter as he approached. Nico was in no way surprised. Without saying a word to Nico, Räikkönen took his drink and went to one of the small booths that lined the walls. Nico rolled his eyes and, taking his coffee, followed him.

“What’s this about?” Nico asked as they walked, as if he really expected to get answers from the Finn.

“Thought we needed to talk,” Räikkönen said, sitting down.

“I’ve not got time to come and play games. We’re not kids anymore,” Nico said. “You do realise I have things to do.”

“The hit and run?” Räikkönen asked.

“Yes.”

“Funny that. I heard a rumour you already know who’s done it.”

“If I knew who’d done it, I wouldn’t be sat having this conversation with you, _Kimi_ ,” Nico said with his best sweet smile, and sat down opposite Räikkönen. He did his best to stay calm on the outside, but could slowly feel his insides beginning to dissolve. If he knew it was Lewis… Räikkönen had been waiting for a chance to bring their so called war back out of the cupboard and this was the perfect opportunity. No. _No_. If Räikkönen knew, Nico was almost certain he wouldn’t be sat here right now.

Unless this was just a ploy to get him away from Lewis…

“Look, I don’t really give a shit about this as much as you don’t,” Räikkönen began. “I have better things to do than look for a guy who got pissed one night and decided to get in a car and I’m sure you do too. But they want something and I am sick to death of being asked about this. So if you know who it is, just tell me.”

Nico was shocked into silence. It had been such a long time since Räikkönen had been so open and honest with him. If he were honest, it had been a long time since he’d heard the Finn say so much in one go.

“Rosberg?”

“I don’t know,” Nico said, his voice a lot smaller than he wanted it to be. “What are you going to do?”

Räikkönen shrugged. “Carry on like normal. Leave it to the police. I’ve not got time for petty shit like this.”

“You’re just going to leave it?”

Räikkönen shrugged. “Why not?”

He finished the drink and left it on the table when he stood. Nico stood with him but Räikkönen didn’t turn to him.

“Please give me a little more notice next time you decide you want to talk to me,” Nico said, following the Finn out of the bar.

“It was urgent,” Räikkönen said, as he headed down the street towards his car.

“And why is that?” Nico said.

“Because I thought you knew who it was,” Räikkönen said with a small shrug. “I wanted to know if it was true or not.”

“Well now you know,” Nico said, bitterly. This didn’t sound urgent to him at all.

“Yes, now I know,” Räikkönen said, unlocking the car a few paces before he reached it. He climbed into the driver’s seat and slammed the door shut, leaving Nico on the street. He turned the engine on but, before he could pull away, he rolled the window down and called to Nico, who was beginning to walk away. “And now I know you’re lying.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a bit "errr". I didn't have much time for editing this morning. Thanks for reading. :)


	5. In which Dan and Dan chat, there's news at the hospital, and shit goes down at Nico's

“You work for Räikkönen,” Daniil snapped as soon as Dan showed his face in the house again.

Dan’s usual smile fell immediately and he closed the front door. Two arguments in as many days. He was going for some kind of record.

“You’ve been fighting with Seb,” Daniil continued, urged on by Dan’s silence.

“Daniil calm down.”

“Calm down?” Daniil snapped. “You’re part of a gang.”

“I’m not part of a gang,” Dan said. He almost laughed at the thought of it.

“You work for Räikkönen?”

Dan sighed. “Yeah.”

“Then you’re part of a gang,” Daniil said. This was the exact thing he had escaped from before and of course he knew the small town’s history but he’d been certain that was all in the past. The gangs were still there but normal people weren’t in them. People like _Dan_ weren’t in them.

“I’m not part of a gang,” Dan said again, but he really didn’t know why he was explaining all this to the kid.

“Then what’s going on?” Daniil asked.

“That’s nothing to do with you.”

“It is when he comes here, asking where you are and threatening me,” Daniil said.

Dan froze. “Kimi came here?”

“Working for him and being part of a gang is one thing,” Daniil said. “But if you’re going to be part of a gang, it’s best to not piss off the person in charge. Back home you’d be dead already.”

“I am not part of a gang, ok?” Dan snapped. “Kimi pays me to keep an eye on Seb.”

“What?”

Dan sighed and dumped the coat he was still holding on the back of the chair. Daniil watched him, confused, as he fell onto the sofa and rubbed his face. Dan knew he shouldn’t have been saying this, but he was not going to let anybody think he was in a gang. That was not who he was.

“Kimi pays me to keep an eye on Sebastian and make sure he’s ok,” Dan said, quietly. “Seb doesn’t have the best mental state, alright, and it’s my job to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.”

It had been fine. For years, that had been his job and Sebastian had never known. It wasn’t as if Dan didn’t like spending time with him and he would probably have been doing the same thing even if he wasn’t being paid. He’d been friends with Sebastian long before Kimi Räikkönen had gotten involved. But this way he could volunteer at Halfway Homes all he wanted and he never had to worry about money. It had been fine, until Sebastian had found out and completely over reacted.

“Why would Räikkönen care about Seb?” Daniil asked, still confused.

Dan mentally rolled his eyes, but didn’t show anything on the outside. “No idea. Does anyone really understand that man?”

“Didn’t you ask?” Daniil asked.

This time Dan really did roll his eyes. “Because Kimi answers questions? I just do as I’m told and get on with things, Daniil. I am not in a gang.”

Daniil nodded, everything making as much sense as it had done before Kimi’s visit. Then another question occurred.

“You were fighting with Seb?” Daniil said. “You never fight with him.”

“He found out that I was being paid,” Dan said, quietly. “It wasn’t exactly a fight, but he wouldn’t let me explain and he got upset.”

How Daniil had found out, Dan didn’t know, but he knew Sebastian had told Hanna and it had probably come from her.

He’d gone missing. It was no wonder Kimi had come looking for him when the one thing he had to do he had failed. Hanna had phoned him, in hysterics, to tell him that Sebastian had gone missing and he had known then that Kimi would be after a ‘word’ with him, hit and run driver to find or not.

This was all his fault and if he didn’t find Sebastian soon, he could say goodbye to the easy life. Or any kind of life. Which was why he’d been out all day trying to find him. With no luck.

“How did he find out?” Daniil asked.

“I’ve no idea,” Dan said. “The only people who knew were me and Kimi.”

“What are you going to do?” Daniil asked. He’d seen people get into a lot of trouble for a lot less. Maybe he had a little more experience in this side of the world than he liked to pretend.

“Find Seb,” Dan said. Besides leaving and running away, there wasn’t much else he could do. Find Sebastian before Kimi found him.

 

It was a lot later than usual when Rob finally arrived at the hospital. He hadn’t wanted to leave Hanna alone, and a “mum’s lunch” at a friend’s house had given him the chance to leave. For a moment he considered going to find Sebastian, but he found himself on the way to the hospital without even thinking about it and knew he was always going to do this.

“Rob, hi, wait a second!” One of the nurses rushed around the desk in the reception area. Rob recognised her – he spent enough time in the hospital to know all the staff in this ward by name – so he gave her a small smile as he went to continue through to the ward. “I need to talk to you.”

Rob stopped dead. Something was wrong.

“He’s woken up,” the nurse, Laura, said.

“He’s _what_?” Rob made to rush down the all too familiar route but Laura stopped him, grabbing his hand and pulling him onto one of the uncomfortable sofas that lined the ‘friendly’ reception area.

“Just wait a second,” she said when Rob tried to get up and leave again.

“What’s wrong?”

“He woke in the night…”

“Why didn’t you phone me?”

“Rob, calm down,” Laura said.

She didn’t know, of course, how close they were. How close they really were. Nobody was allowed to know that. So she didn’t understand how stupid it was to tell him to calm down.

“We thought it would be better to tell you face to face,” she said. “He woke up in the night, and we did some tests. You know we were worried about the effect the accident might have had on his brain. It’s nothing short of a miracle, but brain activity is, as far as we can tell, normal. He’s mostly fine.”

“ _Mostly_?” If that was supposed to be reassuring, it wasn’t, and Laura had to pull Rob back onto the sofa again.

Laura sighed. She hated this part of her job. “He’s suffering from some memory loss.”

“Memory loss?” Rob opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, trying to think of something else to say, but there was nothing.

“It seems bad,” Laura said. “I’m sorry.”

Rob gulped and nodded, his hands shaking. “Can I… can I see him?”

 

“Lewis?” Nico called, uncertainly, when he returned to what seemed like an empty house. He’d been trying to convince himself all the way home that everything was ok and Räikkönen was just trying to mess with him but… “Lewis?”

No reply.

“Lewis?” he called a little louder, gently closing the front door.

He was on his way into the kitchen when there was a thud from upstairs and a muffled cry. Nico launched himself back into the front hall and up the stairs. When he reached the landing, someone in a black hoodie with a scarf around their face burst out of the bedroom, pushing past Nico and down the stairs. Nico froze on sight and, by the time he was moving again, the intruder was out of the door.

“Lewis.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm feeling pretty shit at the moment. Everyone seems upset and I don't know what to do, so I just posted another chapter where I can go into my own world and solve everyone's problems for them.  
> I hope this doesn't fall below any expectations.  
> Comments always welcome. :)


	6. In which Rob is at the hospital and is upset, and so is Nico, and Felipe, and Jenson...

Laura let Rob go into the private room by himself, which Rob found himself more grateful for than he expected he would be. Felipe didn’t notice him straight away and Rob stood in the doorway, silently watching him for a couple of moments. Somehow, he looked even more broken than before, Rob thought. At least before he had seemed peaceful. Now he looked lost and broken. And it was Rob’s job to change that.

He coughed weakly when he had thought of something to say and Felipe turned to him. The blankness on his face stole the words from Rob’s mind.

“Felipe?” he asked, hopefully, taking another step into the room.

Felipe frowned at him in the same confused way he had always done and for a moment it almost seemed normal. “Are… Rob?” he asked, slowly.

“You remember?”

Felipe shook his head. “The nurses told me you came whilst I was… not here.”

Rob’s heart jerked and his breathing audibly hitched.

“Am sorry,” Felipe said quietly, looking down at the tubes that were still stuck in his hands.

“No, it’s not- it’s not your fault,” Rob said, managing to make his way across to the chair he had spent most of the past two weeks living in. “You’ve nothing to be sorry for. What else have the nurses told you?”

“Would not say much,” Felipe said, still not looking at Rob. “Said there was a car accident. Said I’ve been in a coma for two weeks. And that you were visiting every day.”

Rob nodded. “And what do you remember?”

Felipe shrugged a little, but the movement was barely enough to shift the blankets. “Not much. I’m sorry.”

“It isn’t your fault,” Rob said again. “You don’t remember me?”

Felipe shook his head.

Rob took a deep breath and did his best to attempt a smile. “I’m Rob. You live with me and my friend Valtteri. I’ve been looking after your son. Pea. Felipinho? Do you remember him?”

Felipe stared at him, wide eyed. “I… I think… I don’t know.”

“It’s ok,” Rob said, even though it clearly wasn’t, and he wanted nothing more than to wipe away the tears that were beginning to swell in Felipe’s eyes, but he was stuck in the chair, frozen. “We’ll get through this together, ok?”

Felipe nodded, clumsily trying to wipe his eyes. “Sorry. Am I always so… emotional?” he asked with the shakiest laugh Rob had ever heard.

“I’ve seen you in worse states,” Rob said.

The laugh steadied a little and Felipe finished wiping his eyes. “Take it you are my best friend then?”

Rob felt himself freeze again and he remembered that he could not do this. There was no way he could do this.

“Yeah,” he said, smiling. “Something like that.”

 

“He’s going to be alright, though, isn’t he?” Nico kept saying. He had no idea how many times he had said that now. Too many times.

“Mr Rosberg, your partner is still in surgery,” the doctor he’d managed to catch told him for the third time. “We have no idea the extent of the damage, but we will let you know as soon as we do.”

“Nico, come on,” Jenson said, pulling Nico’s hand away from the doctor’s wrist and letting him go. “This isn’t helping, is it?”

Nico was shaking, his pale skin blotchy from crying and his usually perfect hair a mess from running his hands through it. They’d been there hours. _Hours_ and they still didn’t know anything.

“This is my fault,” Nico continued his mantra from before he’d grabbed hold of someone who looked like they knew what they were doing. “This is all my fault. Should never have left him alone. Should never have let him leave that night.”

Jenson sighed, having grown tired of telling Nico he was wrong within the first fifteen minutes. He bit his lip and rubbed soothing circles into Nico’s back, hoping that would keep him from jumping up and attacking the next doctor to walk in, demanding information.

“I’m going to kill Räikkönen,” Nico whispered, more to himself than to Jenson.

Jenson stopped and turned to Nico, who wasn’t looking at him. “Räikkönen did this?”

“Who else would?” Nico said, pressing his shaking hands against his face to try to calm himself down but it wasn’t working. “He knows I know who did it. He must have figured it out. Or did it as a warning or… or something.”

“How did he find out?”

“I don’t know, do I?” Nico snapped, then instantly regretted it. “I don’t know. I’m sorry.” He glanced around and found the small waiting area sufficiently private enough to press a quick kiss to Jenson’s cheek. “I didn’t mean to. I just… I can’t believe he would do this.”

Not attacking Lewis. No, that was very Räikkönen. The execution probably didn’t go as well as Räikkönen would have wanted it to, but that wouldn’t be too much of a bother to him as long as the outcome was what he wanted.

What Nico couldn’t believe was that Räikkönen had tricked him into leaving Lewis alone.

“But why?” Jenson asked. “He wouldn’t do this because of a hit and run would he? You said he didn’t even really care.”

“I lied to him,” Nico said quietly. “I told him I didn’t know who did it. This is his way of saying he’s not impressed.”

Jenson nodded, silently, and, for the first time since they decided they wanted to be together, he was thankful they hadn’t made it known to anybody. Being around Nico was dangerous. He’d always known that. And if Räikkönen had known, it could very well have been him fighting for his life. He didn’t like the sound of that.

“I’m going to get some coffee,” he said, pulling away from Nico and standing. “Do you want anything?”

“No, thank you,” Nico said, quietly, not looking up as Jenson left the room.

Jenson sighed loudly as soon as the door swung shut and leaned on the wall beside it, just trying to get his mind straight. He loved Nico. There was no way he could deny that. He loved being there for him. He loved cheering him up. He loved everything about him and he loved being loved by him. And he’d always known that Nico’s life was messy. But this was different. This wasn’t something he’d been prepared for.

Nico still loved Lewis.

The thought was running through his mind as Jenson made the short journey to the nearest coffee machine, so wrapped up in it that he barely noticed what was going on around him.

“Jenson?”

He didn’t look up at the sound of his name, but when Rob placed a hand on his shoulder he jerked out of his thought, frowning at the unexpected touch.

“Rob? What are you doing here?”

“Think it’s probably more appropriate if I ask you that,” Rob said, a smile forced onto his face that was unable to reach his eyes.

“Yeah, of course, sorry,” Jenson said, taking the coffee the machine had spluttered out and falling onto the bench beside the machine. He couldn’t go back to Nico yet. He needed to clear his head. Get rid of that thought.

But it was true. Of course, he knew Nico would be upset about Lewis. They’d been friends for years before they’d started going out, but he shouldn’t have been like this. Jenson tried to convince himself he was angry at what Kimi Räikkönen had done, but it just didn’t seem true.

“So…” Rob said, sitting beside him. He had no need to go back to Felipe. He couldn’t stand to sit there with him when he just didn’t remember. There was nothing there. What if he wasn’t the same person anymore? What if he didn’t love-

“Lewis is in surgery,” Jenson answered the question Rob hadn’t finished, not looking at him.

“Lewis?” Rob asked. “Nico’s Lewis?”

 _No,_ Jenson thought. _Not Nico’s Lewis. Nico doesn’t want Lewis anymore._

“Yeah,” he said.

“What happened?” Rob asked.

“Someone tried to kill him,” Jenson said, but then he instantly regretted it. Now would come the questions.

Rob just nodded as if this was perfectly normal. As if it were expected.

Jenson frowned, waiting for the questions. “Aren’t you going to ask?”

Rob shook his head, but didn’t give any explanation.

Jenson wasn’t sure if he should be concerned about this or not. Rob and Lewis weren’t exactly friends. Lewis had tried to stop Rob opening the Halfway Houses when that had first started up and they’d never really seen eye to eye since. But accepting the fact that someone had tried to kill someone else wasn’t normal, no matter who they were.

“Aren’t you surprised?” he asked. “Do you know something?”

Rob shook his head. “This place is horrible. Things like that happen. Nico will find out who did it. Probably quicker than he finds out who drove a car at a little kid but…”

Rob sighed and stood. He needed to go back to Felipe. This had to be scary for him, waking up and having no idea who anyone was or what was going on. Rob knew that. But speaking to him, knowing that he had no idea what they had been through, it hurt.

“Nico is looking, you know,” Jenson said. He didn’t mean for it to come out as harshly as it did. “He has a life of his own to live.”

“A life of his own that we pay for,” Rob snapped. “I wouldn’t mind paying for protection if we actually got some, Jenson. Looks like things finally caught up with him, doesn’t it?”

Rob marched down the corridor and back the way he came before he could say anything worse. Jenson watched him go, the drink in his hands spilling over the edge of the cup his hands were shaking so hard.

“Is that really what people think?”

He spun around to find Nico stood at the other end of the corridor, new tears beginning to swell in his eyes. Jenson stood and put the cup of coffee on top of the machine. He took a step towards Nico but he backed away.

“Is that what _you_ think?”

“Of course it’s not,” Jenson said.

“I never wanted to be a part of this,” Nico snapped. “I just wanted to do what’s right and I thought this way I could.”

“I don’t think that,” Jenson said. “I know you.”

“But they don’t,” Nico said, pointing a shaking finger down the corridor. “They hate me, don’t they?”

“Nico.”

“No, Jenson,” Nico said, rushing past him in the direction Rob had headed. “I need to sort this out.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posting again, because this is distracting me from the madness of the real world


	7. In which Kimi has a plan, Nico tries to make things better, and a child has some tough questions

“Have you seen my phone?” Sebastian asked when Kimi finally made it back to his flat around dinner time. He was currently in the process of pulling the cushions off of the sofa and looked like he had done a pretty good job at trashing the place. “I can’t find it anywhere.”

“I’ve not seen it,” Kimi said, waiting until Sebastian had his back turned before sliding the mobile out of his pocket and dropping it into the mess Sebastian had created. “Seb, I need to talk to you.”

“Can it wait,” Sebastian asked, his hand stuck down the arm of the chair now.

“Not really,” Kimi said.

Something in the tone of Kimi’s voice made Sebastian turn around. He looked up at the Finn who would be emotionless in almost any scenario, and saw a scared man.

“What’s happened?”

 

“Wish I could remember,” Felipe mumbled, looking through the cards that Rob had put up on the bedside table, but he didn’t know any of the names. Rob had told him that he didn’t even recognise half of them, but it hadn’t cheered him up.

“You will,” Rob said, sitting back down in his chair after he went to go and get coffee. He was trying to calm Felipe down as much as himself, but it didn’t look like it was working for either of them.

“What if I don’t?” Felipe asked.

“We’ll find a way through, I promise,” Rob said, smiling.

“Erm, hi.”

Both of them looked up to find Nico stood just a little way into the room. He’d tried to clean himself up before he arrived, wiping his eyes and running a hand through his hair, but he still looked a state and he knew it. He didn’t really care.

“Hi,” Rob said, nervously, what he had said to Jenson still running through his mind.

Felipe looked between Nico and Rob, waiting for some kind of explanation.

“Didn’t know you were awake,” Nico said, shaking a little as everything he had wanted to say to Rob fell from his mind. Sometimes he forgot why he did what he did. Sometimes he forgot about the people he was supposed to be looking after.

“Have only just woken up last night,” Felipe said.

“How are you feeling?” Nico asked, coming a little further into the room.

Felipe shrugged. “Could be better, suppose.”

Nico laughed a little, confused as to why Rob looked like he was about to cry, and came to the bed.

“We are looking for who did this,” Nico said, speaking to both of them now. “I know it looks like I’m not doing a lot, but I am.”

“You’d not even come to see him before now,” Rob said, a little darker than he intended it to be.

“I didn’t think it necessary.”

“And now you do?”

“I wanted to apologise,” Nico said. “For not finding them yet. I’m not going to say I’m not looking, though, because I am. But it’s not easy, finding a drunk driver…”

“You’ll find out who did that to Lewis soon enough, though, won’t you,” Rob snapped.

Felipe looked between them both and he hadn’t thought he could have been any more confused, but he was.

“Whoever did _that_ to Lewis had motive,” Nico said. “It’ll probably be easier to find. But this, there is no motive. Just another drunk on the streets. But we’ll find him.”

Rob wasn’t sure if he believed him or not, but really didn’t want to get into an argument with him now, so just nodded. Nico smiled, tired and worn, but he felt like his work was done.

He nodded. “Well, I should get back,” he said. “Hopefully there’s a doctor looking for me. Glad to see you’re awake.”

He gave a small wave before he left.

Felipe turned to Rob. “Who was that? The police?”

Rob shook his head. “Nico Rosberg.” He sighed, then began to try to explain who Nico and Kimi were and what they were _supposed_ to be doing in Elevency.

 

“Why isn’t Rob here?” Felipinho asked as Valtteri walked him home from school.

Valtteri chewed on his bottom lip, trying to come up with an answer. “He’s at the hospital.”

“Yeah, but why?” Felipinho asked.

“I don’t know,” Valtteri said. Rob hadn’t specifically told him not to tell the child, but it didn’t feel like his place. And there was the fact the kid scared Valtteri a little bit.

“Yeah you do,” Felipinho said. “Adults know everything.”

“Not this one,” Valtteri said.

“Has Daddy woken up?” Felipinho asked suddenly. “Is he going to be back home? Is it a surprise?”

He looked up at Valtteri with a dozy grin, sliding their hands together as they came to cross a road.

Valtteri sighed and shook his head. “No, I’m sorry.”

The dozy grin fell and Felipinho waited in silence for there to be a long enough break in traffic for them to cross. Without even thinking, Valtteri’s grip on his hand tightened.

“Is ok,” he said, eventually. “You’re like Rob. You can’t magic him better either can you?”

Valtteri walked in silence the rest of the way home as Felipinho excitedly told him about his school day, only falling silent when they came to a road, when he’d slide his hand back into Valtteri’s and wait completely still for the cars to pass.

When they got back, Rob’s car was back in the drive way.

 

“I can’t just leave,” Sebastian said, shortly. “What about Emily? And Hanna? I do still care about them.”

“I’ll send them after you as soon as I know you’re safe,” Kimi said. “But you _cannot_ stay here.”

“If I can’t stay here, then neither can Emily,” Sebastian snapped, his headache completely forgotten now. “And you still haven’t even told me why.”

Kimi sighed and fell back onto the sofa even if the cushions had been disgaurded onto the floor. “A lot of bad things are going to happen very soon,” he said, quietly.

“A… what?” Sebastian said, quietly. He peered at Kimi, trying to understand what he was saying, but the Finn’s face was blank and there was no answer there. Kimi wasn’t looking at him, staring a hole into the wall behind him, and it was beginning to unnerve him. “Is this about the hit and run?”

“No,” Kimi said, shortly. “Well, not really.”

“That was a yes or no question.”

“Not really,” Kimi repeated.

“Do you know who did it?” Sebastian asked.

Kimi nodded. Not that the hit and run really mattered in the bigger picture.

“And?” Sebastian prodded.

“That doesn’t matter,” Kimi said, knowing that wasn’t going to settle Sebastian. “What does matter is that you go somewhere safe. I’m sending Dan with you.”

“No.”

“Look, I know you know what was going on, and I really couldn’t give a shit,” Kimi said. “Dan’s looking out for you and that’s final.”

“I’m not having him around me,” Seb asked. “How long have you been paying him for?”

“A couple of years,” Kimi said. “Just after everything happened when Emily was born. Don’t look so disgusted. We were both trying to look after you. What did you expect me to do? Really? If it wasn’t for Dan you would have been dead months ago and you know it. He’s going with you.”

“I’m not going,” Sebastian said, folding his arms to emphasis the point. If this wasn’t so important, Kimi would have found it funny.

“You’ve not got a choice,” Kimi said.

“I’m not leaving Emily. I’m not leaving Hanna. And I am not leaving you,” Sebastian said.

“Do you know where Rosberg is right now?” Kimi snapped.

Sebastian fell a little and a frown creased his face. “Rosberg?”

“He’s at the hospital,” Kimi said, calmer this time. “Do you know why?”

Sebastian shook his head, knowing he was about to find out.

“Somebody tried to kill Hamilton. And when I say try, they might have succeeded. They tricked me into getting Nico out of the house so they could have a go at Hamilton, and to Nico it looks very much like I did it. So he’s going to come after you, and you need to leave.”

Seb stared at him.

This couldn’t be happening.

There was a truce in place. The only reason Kimi had even agreed to the truce in the first place was to stop this from happening.

Sebastian’s mind stumbled through any possible way he could have misunderstood Kimi. None of it made any sense. Why would somebody do that anyway? It was a joke. It had to be a joke. Sebastian didn’t understand Kimi’s sense of humour. He didn’t understand many people’s sense of humour. This just had to be a joke.

Because this could not be happening.

“What?”

“Either Nico is going to come after you, or the guy who did this to Lewis is,” Kimi said. “And I cannot let that happen. You are leaving with Dan. It’s been arranged.”

“But…”

“I will send Hanna and I will send Emily,” Kimi insisted. He stood and, careful to not trip over the mess Sebastian had made, made his way over to the younger man and held his shoulders to stop him from shaking. “I’ll look after them, ok? I’ll get this all sorted out, but I can only do that if I know you’re safe.”

Sebastian looked up at him, tears beginning to swell in his eyes. “You’ll be ok?”

“I’ll be fine as long as you’re fine,” Kimi said. “I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, apologising for suck-ish-ness. Suggestions for improvement always welcome.


	8. In which Nico gets to see Lewis and Pea shows off an inherited trait

“Mr Rosberg?”

Nico jumped up, suddenly wide awake again even though he’d barely been able to keep his eyes open for the past half an hour. The doctor gave him a pitiful smile as she closed the door behind her. There was only Nico and Jenson in the private waiting room. Everyone knew what a high profile case this was and they were given a little bit of privacy. It made Nico feel like they were preparing him for the worst. He hadn’t let himself hope. After what he had seen…

“Surgery was a success,” the doctor said. “But there were some complications and we would like to keep him in an induced coma before he has more surgery tomorrow.”

“More?” Nico squeaked, the word barely audible around his tears. Jenson stood and put a hand on his shoulder. He wanted to do more, but there were rules. 

“Things weren’t as simple as we had thought,” the doctor said. “And though we solved the issue we set out to resolve, we were made aware of another issue. This is a good thing, Mr Rosberg,” she insisted. “It’s good that we noticed this now. Though there is no immediate rush to fix the problem, it would become an issue if we left it to a later time.”

“But he’s going to be ok?” Nico said.

“It’s too early to tell, but he’s where we had hoped he would be when we began surgery,” she said. “I’m sorry I can’t tell you anything more right now.”

“Can we- can I go and see him?”

The doctor bit her lip and clutched her notes to her chest. “It is outside visiting hours. And we’re keeping him sedated until after the next surgery to minimise irritation to the wound. But, yes. If you would like to see him you can.”

It was very unlikely anyone was going to say no to Nico Rosberg, least of all when he was in this state. 

“Would you like to come with me?”

“Pea, are you listening to me?” Rob asked, suspiciously, as Felipinho picked though his dinner.

The five year old looked up at him, confused. “Yeah.”

“What did I just say?” Rob asked, unable to stop himself grinning. He didn’t know how many times he’d had this conversation, with both generations of Massa.

Pea frowned. “I was listening.”

“It’s ok,” Rob said. “But I need to tell you something really important, ok? And you need to be listening.”

“I’m listening,” Pea insisted.

“Good,” Rob said, putting down his knife and fork. “I’m sorry I couldn’t pick you up from school. Did Valtteri tell you where I was?”

“At the hospital,” Pea said. “Is something wrong? You normally pick me up.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry I couldn’t mate, but…” He’d been trying to think of a way to say this all afternoon and had been putting off bringing it up, but Pea had to know. Felipe had already asked about seeing him and Rob had promised to bring him after school the next day. “Nothing’s wrong. Actually, I have some good news.”

Pea’s face brightened immediately and his fork and knife clattered onto his plate.

“Calm down,” Rob laughed.

“Is it Daddy?” Pea asked. “Is he coming home?”

“No, Pea, not yet,” Rob said, calmly. “But he did wake up.”

Pea stared at him, not sure if that was a good thing or not but still bouncing on his chair.

Rob took a deep breath, still having no idea how he was going to say this. “You know he hit his head really bad?”

“Yeah,” Pea said. He stopped bouncing, noticing how serious Rob was now and he didn’t like it. 

“Well, it made him forget some things,” Rob said, slowly.

Pea frowned. “What kind of things?”

“Lots of different things,” Rob said. Everything. Felipe had forgotten everything. Neither of them were really coping with that well, so how did anyone expect a five year old child to do any better. 

“Does he know when my birthday is?” Pea asked.

Rob shook his head. “He doesn’t remember… he doesn’t remember who you are.”

Pea frowned harder, squinting his eyes. “He forgot me?”

“Not just you,” Rob said. “The doctors said he’s forgotten everybody. Isn’t that silly? But he’ll remember soon. When he gets better.”

“Is that why he can’t come home yet?” Pea asked.

“Yeah.”

“Does he remember you?” Pea asked, curiously.

Rob shook his head again. “No, mate, he doesn’t.”

“When will he get better?” Pea asked.

“The doctor’s don’t know yet, Pea.”

“But the adults know everything,” Pea said, quickly.

“Not this time, Pea, I’m sorry,” Rob said. “But he wants to see you, tomorrow.”

“Really?” Pea asked, the grin returning to his face only to slide off a few seconds later. “But he doesn’t remember me.”

“He thinks that maybe seeing you will help him remember,” Rob said. “He remembers you a little. And I told him all about you.” The child still wasn’t happy. Pea picked up his fork again and started to push the carrots he never ate around his plate again. “You don’t have to go, if you don’t want to.”

“Would I have to miss school?” Pea asked, not looking away from his plate.

“Not if you don’t want to,” Rob said.

“I don’t want to miss school,” Pea said. “But I want to see Daddy. Can we go after?”

“Of course we can.”

Pea finished his food in silence, leaving the carrots on his plate as he always did. When Rob eventually let him get down from the table, he pushed himself off of his chair, then looked up at Rob with his head cocked. He looked so much like his father it hurt.

“Does he still love you?” he asked.

Rob was stunned into silence, his mouth suddenly too dry to speak.

“I… I don’t know Pea, not right now,” Rob said.

“I still love you,” Pea said quietly, before taking his plate out into the kitchen.

Nothing looked wrong. All the surgery, all the horrific injuries that would leave everlasting scars were all tucked away under the blankets. Tubes and wires crossed his body, but they didn’t look like they were needed. His chest gently rose and fell in time with the beeping and humming of the machines. It was oddly calming to Nico. No matter what the doctors said or thought, he knew Lewis was going to be ok.

In the privacy of Lewis’ room, once the doctor had left, Jenson slid his hand around Nico’s waist and pulled him towards him. Nico rested his head on Jenson’s chest, breathing in time with the machines himself.

“I should never have left him alone,” Nico whispered. “I should have known.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Jenson said, calmly. “This isn’t your fault.”

“Then whose is it?” Nico asked, accusingly. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Lewis, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest.

“Who told Kimi?” Jenson asked. “Who else knew it was him?”

Nico shrugged. “You. Me. Him. I don’t think he told anybody else. The only people he’s even spoken to are me and Toto.”

“Somebody must have over heard in the café,” Jenson said. “I’m sorry. Does… does Rob know.”

Nico had spent a long time with him after storming off from Jenson.

He silently shook his head and peeled himself away from Jenson to sit in the chair beside the bed. Jenson followed him, still clutching his hand.

“Not yet anyway,” Nico said. 

This was just making a mess. He couldn’t just let Kimi get away with something like this. Of course he knew the hit and run was serious and of course he knew Lewis needed to be punished for this, but if it hadn’t been him, the driver wouldn’t have been punished half as badly as this. This was nothing to do with the so called business. This was personal. 

“What are you going to do?” Jenson asked.

Nico shrugged. Going after Sebastian seemed like the proper thing to do after this. The German was the only person Kimi actually cared about that Nico could even consider using to get back at him.If it were the other way around, Kimi wouldn’t think twice about going after him. But Sebastian was innocent in all this and there was no way Nico was going to make himself look worse than he already did.

Besides, Kimi would have Sebastian locked up safe already.

“I don’t know,” Nico said. “I never know what to do, Jense. I should never have even taken this role and we both know it. We all know it. I should have just let Kimi run this shit. He knows what to do. I should have listened to him. If I’d listened to him, none of this would have happened.”

It was too late for that now though, and Nico knew it. He’d started off down this path, and to just give total control to Kimi without even putting up a fight would be pathetic.

He could think of one person who would help him. One person who would know what to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No sad little notes, as promised. Just a criticism welcome sign and a thank you to all those already reading. :)


	9. Backstory 1: In which there is a change of charge, a war, a truce, and then an accident that sets it all off again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I know I've been saying all along that these are not so good, but this is really not so good. You don't have to read it. It's just context. And some rolipe at the end. :)

Back Story Time!

“I’m too old for this,” Keke muttered to himself. Meetings with ‘the families’ were getting more and more stressful and more and more tiring. He’d already noticed the fact he wasn’t getting as much respect as he had once done from the others and he could hardly blame them. Looking after his town felt like looking after a bubbling cauldron these days and he never knew when it was going to explode.

“You should retire,” Niki said, from behind him, watching as the others climbed into their elegant black cars to return to their own territories. “We don’t all have to go down in flames, you know.”

“Because I haven’t thought of that before,” Keke muttered darkly. Of course he’d thought about retiring. But then who would take over? His own son couldn’t even look after his own group of friends, getting into arguments with his only close friend so often Toto, their ‘minder’, had suggested on a number of occasions that Nico stop seeing the Hamilton boy, for their own sakes.

Nico wasn’t ready for that responsibility.

“He doesn’t have to do it alone,” Niki said, as if reading his mind.

“You just want me to give your Kimi something to do,” Keke said, smirk on his face.

“This is true,” Niki admitted, nodding. He walked alongside Keke towards where they’d parked their own cars now the others had cleared. “But Toto has told me quite a bit about your Nico. Kimi would complement him well. You’d be an idiot to not think about it.”

 

Keke did think about it and, as always, Niki was right.

 

“I’m retiring,” Keke said. His eyes flicked between the two boys in his office. Nico gawped at him, inevitably shocked at the ‘revelation’. Kimi just looked bored. Keke briefly wondered if Niki had told him what was going on, before continuing. “I’m leaving the business to you two.”

That got a reaction.

“Us?” Nico asked.

Kimi looked too stunned to speak.

“As in, him and _me_?” Nico asked, jabbing a finger at Kimi.

“Yes, Nico, you and Kimi,” Keke said. “I have a new project I’d like to dedicate my time to, and it makes sense to pass on the charge to the two of you.”

Nico just stood there, stupidly stuttering to try to get his father to change his mind, but it was useless, and he eventually left, storming out of the office without waiting to hear what Kimi had to say about the issue.

Kimi had just sat and listened to it all, still confused but managing to have regained control of his facial expression so he just looked bored again.

Keke sighed and fell back into his own chair, after having stood up to try to yell some sense at Nico.

Kimi rose his eyebrows when he met Keke’s eyes.

“It’ll be good for him,” Keke said.

“Does not seem to think so,” Kimi said. “I don’t think so.”

“It will be,” Keke said. “He’s a Rosberg.”

“He’s not you,” Kimi said. “Niki said you wanted me to help him. Cannot help him if he does not want it.”

“I don’t want you to help him. I want you to work together.”

 

Once Keke was gone and Nico had been given enough time to let things sink in, he seemed to be much keener on the idea.

Nico had spent a lot of time in his father’s shadow, and then a lot of time in Kimi’s. He wasn’t going to say he didn’t like Kimi. The Finn complimented Nico well. Whatever Nico wasn’t able to do, Kimi could. And, whenever it was the other way around, Nico came into his own. It was very rarely the other way around, though, and people were beginning to notice that.

A year went past with this way of working, before the whispers of Nico being ‘weak’ became too much for him, and he confronted Kimi.

“It is _my_ family business, after all.”

Kimi was so shocked he almost laughed. “You want me to stop? And what will you do when you have to go and speak to the big bad guys all by yourself.”

“I can do it,” Nico snapped.

“Sure,” Kimi said, as if it didn’t matter.

“I _can_ ,” Nico said. “I’m sick of you telling me what to do.”

“Do not do this,” Kimi said. “I’m telling you how to run things because if I didn’t, somebody probably would have killed you before now.”

“You think you’re special, don’t you, but you’re not,” Nico said.

“Why would your dad chose me if he didn’t think so?” Kimi said, feeling his skin begin to go warm. He needed to calm down, but there was no chance of doing that with Nico yelling at him. “He only got you involved because you’re the son and he didn’t want to look like a failure.”

“Take that back.”

“Why should I?” Kimi said. “Have enough to do without you being a baby, Nico. Leave me alone.”

“I want what’s mine, Räikkönen,” Nico spat. “And if you’re not going to give it to me, I’m going to take it.”

 

Kimi was unprepared for Nico to act out his threat. If he was honest, he didn’t think Nico had the guts. He knew what to do, but Kimi had never thought he would really do it.

But then, seemingly out of the blue, he did.

War engulfed the tiny little town Keke had gifted to the boys, many people choosing to leave rather than face the difficult decision of picking a side. Kimi did his best to pretend that nothing was wrong, but it was clearly not the case, and Nico spent most of his time paranoid.

Things only stopped when Toto, the mediator of Nico’s youth, stepped in.

A truce was drawn together, and that had been going pretty well. The town was split between the pair of them, with different organisations covering different parts of the market place. Things had been just getting back to normal when there was the hit and run.

 

“You can’t catch me!” Felipinho sang as he ran up the road, skipping around the puddles.

“Not so close to the road!” Felipe called after him, making no attempt to run after him.

It was late, way past Felipinho’s bed time, but his yellow and green bobble hat shone under the streetlights.

“He doesn’t listen,” Rob said. He glanced around quickly to make sure they were alone before sliding his hand into Felipe’s inside the shorter man’s pocket.

“Sure he does,” Felipe said. “Felipinho! Come back here a second! You know you can’t run off when it’s dark!”

“He’s not listening.” Rob said, smugly.

Felipe sighed and unlinked his hand from Rob’s to march up the street.

 

“Nico, I know things are bad at the moment, but I love you… I’ve always loved you and I know you love me too. We wouldn’t work if we weren’t like this. You made a mistake and I get that. I can get past that. We all make mistakes. I just think we need to try again, you know, because we’re bigger than this. Please just pick up the phone so I can talk to you. I need to talk to you. I- shit!”


	10. In which Sebastian prepares to go, Hanna annoys Kimi, and Toto arrives to sort things out. Again.

Dan sat in the car outside of his best friend’s house, trying to figure out what he was going to say. He had to do get this over with, quickly. Kimi and Sebastian were waiting for him and, if he put it off any longer, Kimi would come looking for him, but he still had no idea what he was going to say.

All this would have been so much simpler if Sebastian had never found out about the money. It wasn’t as if the money even mattered. Not really. He would have done what he did anyway. He should never have been so greedy.

Still annoyed at himself, Dan got out of the car, hurried up the short garden path and knocked quickly on the front door.

It was the middle of the night and he didn’t really expect Hanna to be up, but she answered the door only a few seconds later. It was dark, one of the street lights casting gloomy shadows across her face and picking out the trails tears had left across her face.

“Dan?”

Dan froze, the beginnings of any explanation he had come up with falling from his mind.

“What’s happened? Hanna?”

“He’s not come back,” Hanna sobbed, falling into Dan as she had fallen into pretty much everyone she had seen. “Nobody’s seen him and he’s gone again.”

Dan held her instinctively, trying to calm her down. “It’s fine. Hanna, he’s with Kimi.”

Why hadn’t he told her?

“Kimi?” Hanna said, confused, pulling away to peer at Dan. “But…”

“I don’t know,” Dan said. “I need to talk to you though, this is important.”

Still wiping tears off of her face, Hanna led Dan inside the house. None of the lights were on downstairs, the only light in the hall coming from the landing at the top of the stairs and the muted television in the living room. Once Hanna was settled on the sofa, Dan flicked the light on, the eerie silence only broken by Hanna’s shakey breathing as she tried to stop crying and the murmurs Emily let out as she slept in the chair in the corner. Hanna hadn’t gotten around to taking her up to her room yet.

Dan swept his eyes over the scene before falling into the seat beside Hanna, holding her hands on her lap.

“Kimi’s worried,” he began.

Hanna’s head shot up again. “Is Seb ok? He’s not hurt?”

_He’s not hurt himself?_

“Seb’s fine,” Dan insisted with a weak smile. “But… Kimi thinks things are about to kick off. He’s asked me to take Seb away until things calm down.”

“Away? Away where?”

“I can’t say,” Dan said, trying to speak calmly but failing. “He doesn’t want me to. Once he knows it’s safe, Kimi will send you and Emily after us…”

“I’m not going to just let him go,” Hanna cried, pulling her hands away from Dan’s. “I’m not letting Kimi take him away from me.”

“He’s… what?”

“Sebastian loves _me_ ,” Hanna said. “We’re his family, not Kimi, and Kimi can’t change that.”

“He doesn’t…” Dan said, confused. Hanna couldn’t know about Sebastian and Kimi. Nobody was supposed to know about that. “Hanna? He’s not taking him away.”

“I know they’re together,” Hanna said, standing. “And I don’t care. But he loves me. He comes back to me.”

Dan stared at her from the sofa. And he thought it was going to be hard anyway. Hanna wiped her eyes again and crossed to pick Emily out of the cot.

“If he’s going anywhere, we’re coming too.”

“Kimi said…”

“I don’t care,” Hanna said, rocking with Emily against her chest. “We’re coming.”

 

“What if…” Sebastian shuddered at the thought of it, moving closer still to Kimi whilst they waited for Dan to return.

Kimi frowned. “What if what?”

“What if this is bad?” Sebastian said. “What if you can’t sort it out?”

“Of course I will be able to sort it out,” Kimi said.

“You don’t know that,” Sebastian said.

It felt like ages ago that this had last happened. What if Kimi wasn’t ready for this? They’d been so used to the quiet life. He wasn’t _prepared_.

“I do,” Kimi said. “And it won’t be too bad. Not when I’ve spoken to Nico.”

“Then why do I have to leave?”

“Because I said so,” Kimi said. He looked around the deserted street again, but there was still nobody about, so he pressed a quick kiss against Sebastian’s forehead. “Because it will stop me worrying.”

“And this guy you’re sending me to…”

“I’d trust him with my life,” Kimi insisted. He still hadn’t told Sebastian who. He didn’t want the kid to freak out. When he had told Dan – a long time ago when he’d been paranoid and planned for any eventuality – Dan had been unable to hold his giddiness.

“Ok,” Sebastian said quietly, shuffling a little against the cold.

The street was thrown into light as a car turned around the corner. Squinting against the headlights, Kimi could see it was Dan, and he wasn’t alone.

“No,” he said, as soon as Dan climbed out of the car.

“I didn’t really have much of a choice,” Dan said, closing the door quietly so as to not wake Emily up. Hanna didn’t think twice about slamming the door shut when she climbed out of the back seat.

“I’m coming too,” she said.

“No,” Kimi said again. He didn’t really have time for this. He had enough to worry about without throwing Hanna into the mix. Not for the first time, he resented her existence. It was gone in a moment though. Sebastian wouldn’t have made it this far without her and she really did care about him.

“You can’t stop me,” Hanna said, even though she knew that was a lie.

“Fine,” Kimi snapped turning his back on them all and pulling out his phone. He would have to send word ahead about the change in plan.

Once Kimi had his back to them, Hanna’s strength fell and she wrapped her arms around Sebastian, pressing her wet cheek against his chest.

“I was so worried,” she said. “I thought you had gone again. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Gone?” Sebastian asked with a weak laugh, holding Hanna whist Dan waited impatiently. “I was just with Kimi.”

“But you didn’t phone,” Hanna said. “I didn’t know.”

“I didn’t… but Kimi…” Sebastian spun around. “You told me you phoned.”

“Forgot,” Kimi said, bluntly.

“Then why did you tell me you phoned?” Sebastian asked.

“Because I didn’t want you to worry,” Kimi said. “It doesn’t matter anymore, does it? Go.”

Sebastian frowned at Kimi, but his expression softened as soon as he noticed the fear in the Finn’s eyes. This was serious. Much more serious than Kimi was making it out to be. Before he could ask, Dan pulled him into the car, and they were off.

 

“I came as soon as I could, Nico. I…” Toto fell silent when his eyes fell on Lewis. Nico had said it was bad, but he never really thought it would be _that_ bad. Nico had a tendency to over react but not this time.

“I just… didn’t know what to do,” Nico said, quietly, lifting his head from Jenson’s chest.

Jenson offered Toto a weak smile, unsure how to react in his presence. Toto didn’t even look at him, his eyes flicking between the boys he’d been charged with looking after since they were children. He couldn’t decide which one was in a worse state. There was little he could do for Lewis now, though, and he knew it.

“Come on,” Toto said, stepping back and watching as Nico stood. “We need to go through this properly. Maybe we can sort it out before it gets out of hand?”

“Out of hand? Toto he could have died,” Nico whispered, his eyes flicking back to Lewis for a few moments to watch the gentle rise and fall of his chest. “You should be talking to Räikkönen.”

“Yes, but I don’t know Räikkönen. I know you,” Toto said. “And we need to get this sorted out. Cannot let anybody else suffer because of what he has done.”

Nico nodded and was about to follow Toto out of the room before he remembered Jenson. Jenson smiled up at him, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“I’ll be waiting here,” he said. “You need to sort this out.”

Nico nodded once and followed Toto out.

He hadn’t said much on the phone and Toto’s first task was to decipher what he was saying and find out what had really happened. Lewis hadn’t told him about the hit and run incident. He hadn’t even heard there was a hit and run until the day. Nico babbled about the crash and the meeting with Räikkönen and the attack and, between sobs, Toto was told the story of the last couple of weeks.

“What has Räikkönen said about all this?” he asked once he was sure Nico’s babbling was telling him nothing new.

Nico shook his head. “Haven’t spoken to him.”

“You should probably speak to him before you do anything,” Toto said. “I can go with you, if you would like. You need to know what he plans to do next and there’s no way you can do that from in here.”

“I can’t leave Lewis,” Nico said.

“You can’t do anything for him here,” Toto said. “The doctors have already said he won’t be awake until after surgery tomorrow. You could have this all sorted out before then.”

Nico sighed and nodded. Toto was right, as always.

“I’ll go and phone him now.”


	11. In which Kimi and Nico have another chat and Pea doesn't come down for breakfast

“Well, this is a pleasant surprise,” Kimi said.

All he’d been told was that Nico needed to see him immediately and he, of course, couldn’t guess what this was about. Kimi had suggested the bar they had been to earlier in the day, one of the private rooms in the back now the bar was actually open. Nico had agreed.

Kimi looked between Nico and Toto when he walked in.

“Does Niki know you’re here?” he asked. The last he’d heard, Toto had been working with his father on some ‘project’.

“Of course,” Toto said, ignoring the look he got from Nico, who knew nothing about this project. “He thinks this is important. So do I.”

“Is nothing to do with you,” Kimi said, taking a seat opposite Nico without even looking at him.

“I care about the pair of you,” Toto said. “Have watched Nico grow up, am working with your father, I can’t help but care about the pair of you. And if you let Elevency get into as much a mess as you did last time, the people living here are going to hate you. I am on neither of your side because I think you are both on the wrong side, trying to start a war.”

“ _I’m_ not trying to start a war,” Nico objected. “ _I’m_ not the one nearly killing people.”

“Neither am I,” Kimi said, coldly. “Think you will find it was your boyfriend nearly killing people first.”

“Don’t act like children,” Toto said.

“I never touched Lewis,” Kimi said. “Would not be here talking to you if I did.”

“Don’t even bother lying, Räikkönen, I know,” Nico spat.

“Know what?” Kimi asked. “That Lewis very nearly killed an innocent person, could very easily have killed a child? Yes, that deserves punishing, but I would not have done it like that. Was why I was talking to you this afternoon instead of going straight to him?”

“You were talking to me this afternoon so you could get him alone for one of your minions,” Nico spat.

“Was not me,” Kimi insisted, the annoyance beginning to show in his voice. When he’d agreed to speak to Nico he’d hoped he would be able to show him some sense, but the German was just as paranoid as he always was. “I would not have punished him like that, Nico, and you know it.”

“Not normally, no,” Nico said, not even both to keep the angry out of his voice. “But because you could get to _me_ …”

“Would have gone for Jenson if I wanted to get to you,” Kimi said. “Sit down and stop behaving like a child. Toto?”

“Come on, Nico, this isn’t helping,” Toto agreed.

“He tried to kill Lewis.”

“For goodness sake Nico, was not me,” Kimi said, again. “If you’re not even going to listen to me, what is the point of me being here? I’m going now. Have more important things to do.”

“Like what? Finishing him off?”

“Like finding out who did this,” Kimi snapped. “Whilst you’re being a narrow minded idiot, some of us actually want to sort this out. Am going to try to find out who set me up and who tried to kill Lewis. Then I’m going to kill them. Then maybe I’ll have time for your games, Nico. Good night.”

“Wait!” Nico called as Kimi marched across the room. Kimi stopped just short of the door and turned back to Nico. “What do you mean set you up?”

Kimi’s eyes flicked between Nico and Toto as he considered the answer. Half of him wanted to just walk out and leave Nico there, but that left the possibility of dealing with a pathetic looking Rosberg chasing him back through the club, and he didn’t like that idea.

“I want to talk to Nico alone,” he said to Toto.

Toto turned to Nico, but Nico just nodded.

“Will wait for you outside,” he said, before walking past Kimi and out of their private room.

“Tell me what is going on,” Nico demanded.

“Somebody tipped me off about Lewis,” Kimi admitted, falling back into his seat at the table. Nico followed suit. “Anonymous message came through Niki. I didn’t want to believe it, so I came to you. Your poker face is shit, Nico. I knew it was him the moment I saw you. I leave you. The next thing I know, someone has tried to kill Lewis. They’re trying to start the war again, or want you to kill me.”

“Why would anyone want to do that?”

“Because they’re mad?” Kimi suggested with a shrug. “Does not matter why, only that we find out who did it and that we do not let them get to us. Is working pretty well, you have not killed me yet.”

“Only because I’m too scared,” Nico said. He wasn’t sure if he believed Räikkönen or not. He would ask Toto’s opinion, maybe speak to his father. But, if it meant that there was a possibility there was somebody else out there who wanted to hurt him, he needed to find out who. “What are we going to do?”

“I have a plan,” Kimi admitted. “Sort of.”

 

“Come on, Pea, I know your awake, you need to come down for breakfast,” Rob called up the stairs. He didn’t really have time for this. There was another family due to move in and Rob wanted to get Felipinho to school early so he could be there when they arrived. That way he could go to the hospital at his usual time and he could have as much time as possible to prepare Felipe for Felipinho. “If I have to come up there, you’re not going to football practice tomorrow night.”

Rob disappeared from the bottom of the stairs to check on the breakfast he had left cooking. Valtteri was already at the hob, flipping the eggs.

“Is not coming down?” he asked.

“Clearly,” Rob said, pressing a hand against his forehead whilst he leaned in the doorway. “Of all the days he could decide to be stubborn, he picks today.”

“Is their way, no?” Valtteri said with a grin. “Would not make your life difficult if they did not love you.”

“Love to wind me up,” Rob said. He sighed loudly, and paused to listen, but there was still no movement from upstairs. “For goodness sake.” Rob marched to the bottom of the stairs. “Felipinho Massa, if you do not come down here in the count of three, I am coming up and there is going to be trouble. One… Two…” Still nothing. “Right, that’s it.”

Rob marched up the stairs as loudly as he could, trying to keep himself calm. If there was one thing he could say about Felipinho, it was that he was well behaved. Cheeky, yes, but he was well behaved. Except today, of course, when Rob just really needed him to do as he was told.

“I don’t have time for this today, Pea and you know it,” Rob snapped as he pushed open the door. “Up.”

There was no movement from under the blankets, mostly because there was nothing under the blankets. The room was empty. Felipinho was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry there's a lot of dialogue. I get a little carried away with dialogue.


	12. In which waking up is a pain in the neck and so are the police

Sebastian was asleep, curled up against the door with his head rocking against the window, when Hanna blinked awake again. Dan had driven through the night, but they were pulled up at a service station now and she could see the Australian through the window, talking to a man Hanna didn’t recognise. Neither of them looked very happy. Beside her, Emily was still sleeping, thankfully, and she quietly thanked whoever it was she needed to thank for having such a quiet baby.

Gently, she reached forward and shook Sebastian’s shoulder to wake him.

She had no idea where they were, but it looked nothing like Elevency. The service station was small with only two other cars parked in the car park, one of which had to belong to the man that Dan was talking to.

“What… where?”

“It’s ok, Seb, I’m here,” Hanna said, quietly, trying not to wake Emily. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fi- Shit.” The day before hit Sebastian so hard it almost hurt, pushing him into wakefulness. He glanced over at the seat beside him and found Dan had gone. “Where’s Dan?”

“Talking to somebody,” Hanna said, pointing out of the windscreen. “Do you recognise him?”

“Yeah, that’s Niki Lauda,” Seb said. “He’s Kimi’s dad. Sort of. What- shit.”

It had to be serious. Not that Sebastian couldn’t have guessed that from the fact that he had dragged his family away from their home in the middle of the night and at least two people were already in the hospital, but Niki would never have gotten involved unless Kimi had asked him to. And Kimi would never have asked for help unless he was scared.

“I’m going to find out what’s going on,” Sebastian said, undoing his seat belt and climbing out of the car.

Dan spun around when the car door slammed shut in time to see a wobbling Sebastian fall back onto the car. His legs had gone numb when he was sleeping. There was nothing wrong with him, he hoped.

“Morning sleeping beauty,” Dan said as he skipped over with his usual smile on his face. Sebastian didn’t smile back.

“I’m still not talking to you,” Sebastian said, trying to push himself away from the car without falling over. “Well, I am, because I haven’t got much choice, but if we were back home, I wouldn’t be talking to you. You’re not forgiven.”

“Fair enough,” Dan said, the smile now gone. “I do still care about you, though, Seb. I wasn’t faking any of that I swear.”

“Because that’s going to make me feel any better,” Sebastian said. “You know what I’m like. Do you know how many times I’ve sat with you and wondered why on earth you’re my friend? Of all the people you could have picked to be your best friend, you picked me, the person so miserable they couldn’t even stand to be around their own daughter for the first few months of her life, in case they made her like them? But then I always picked myself up and I told myself that you must like me for something. And if Dan can find something worth liking in me, then I should stick around to find out if I can find it too. Except there wasn’t anything, was there? The only reason you stuck around was because you were being paid to.”

“Seb, that’s not true and you know it,” Dan said.

“I don’t want to talk about this now,” Sebastian said, mostly because he didn’t have anything else to say. “Where are we?”

“Safe,” Niki said from behind Dan. “I assume you’re Sebastian.”

 

“When was the last time you saw him, Mr Smedley?” the police officer asked.

“I don’t… I checked on him before I went to bed,” Rob said. He couldn’t stop shaking. He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t think. And the police kept asking these pointless questions when they should have been out there finding him and he couldn’t answer any of them. “About midnight. Maybe a little later.”

“And you’re certain he wouldn’t go off by himself,” the police officer asked.

Rob shook his head. He felt like he was going around in circles. “Pea wouldn’t do that kind of thing. And he couldn’t have been able to get the chain off of the door.”

He hadn’t noticed the chain was lose until he’d gone to take it down himself.

“You’re sure you didn’t forget to put it on,” the police officer asked.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Rob said, trying to stay calm. “Somebody has taken him.”

“We just want to make sure we have all the possibilities covered.”

“Running away isn’t a possibility,” Rob said. “He’s five years old. Where’s he going to go?”

“Have you checked his classmates-?”

“ _Yes_ ,” Rob cried. “There is nothing you can suggest to me that I have not already done. That’s why I phoned you.”

“Calm down, Rob, it’s going to be ok,” Valtteri said, quietly.

“I can’t calm down,” Rob snapped. “There is a five year old boy out there who has been taken from his home. He’s probably scared to death and all you can do – you, the people whose job it is to find him – is judge whether or not I am a competent parent.”

Ignoring Valtteri’s feeble attempts to stop him, Rob stormed out of the house. If the police weren’t going to do anything about this, he was going to find somebody who would.

 

Nico woke with a pain in his neck which was quickly explained by the fact he was still in the hospital, the rhythmic hums and beeps of the machinery keeping Lewis alive sending him off to sleep. He blinked against the harsh light that was spilling in from the corridor outside and rubbed his eyes, leaning against the thing he had been lying on and getting a quiet “umph” from Jenson.

“How are you feeling?” Jenson asked. He hadn’t gone home either. He didn’t want to leave Nico alone. Not whilst he was in this state.

“My head hurts,” Nico moaned, quietly.

“Yeah, I’m not that good a pillow,” Jenson replied, trying to find the smile he loved on Nico’s face, but Nico had caught sight of Lewis again and gone pale.

He hadn’t told Jenson what Kimi had said. He hadn’t said much at all when he returned to the hospital. Jenson hadn’t wanted to press him too hard. He didn’t really want to know what went on behind closed doors when it came to the family business, quite happy pretending that was nothing to do with him. Of course, he knew it was. If Kimi had known about him and Nico it could quite easily have been him in the hospital bed rather than Lewis. But there was nothing Jenson could do about any of that. He would be there for Nico if he was needed but he wasn’t taking the step into that world.

“You should go home,” he said. “Get some proper sleep.”

He’d said that last night, too, but Nico hadn’t listened then and Jenson was pretty sure he wasn’t going to listen now either.

Nico shook his head, still rubbing his eyes. “Have work to do,” he mumbled. “Need to meet with Räikkönen.”

“Oh no you don’t,” Jenson said, standing and pulling a still sleepy Nico up with him. “You’re going home. You’re having a proper sleep and then you can sort this whole thing out. But I’m not letting you out of my sight until you’ve slept.”

Jenson led Nico out of the room and into the lift that would take them down to reception. By the time the lift doors had closed, Jenson had a sleeping German leaning against him.

Upstairs, one of the machines stopped humming and the beeping became a squeal.


	13. In which Kimi watches some TV and there's a meeting at the school

He was gone. Really gone.

Rob had been wondering around for hours, trying to find somebody who could help, but the entire town seemed to be at a standstill today. Nowhere was open. Nobody was in.

He couldn’t find Felipinho anywhere.

Somebody had taken him. Somebody had snuck into his house and taken him.

Rob had already called up the agency that sent him the families to stay at the Halfway Houses. He’d already been around to see them all. They were the only ones he could think of that would take him. Sometimes he was sent some sick people, not evil but genuinely sick. But he had no reason to believe any of the families he was currently boarding would do something like this.

So he really had no idea where Felipinho was.

How was he supposed to explain this to Felipe?

He knew he should go back to the house. Valtteri had tried to phone twenty times and the police were probably waiting for him. Or, even worse, they’d gone back to the station and thought he was over reacting. Why did nobody in this town _do_ anything?

Rob’s phone was ringing again. This time, instead of letting it ring out like he had done every other time, he pulled it from his pocket and, without even checking to see the caller ID, answered.

“If you’re going to tell me to calm down I think you should reconsider your word choice.”

“Mr Smedley? It’s Miss Cotton from Paloma Primary?”

Rob stopped dead and pulled the phone away from his ear.

 _School_ , read the display with the smiling cartoon man beneath.

He gulped. “Sorry, I’m a little stressed at the moment.”

“I can imagine,” Cotton said, calmly. “I’ve just had a very odd conversation with a police officer who is under the impression that Felipinho has gone missing.”

“Yeah,” Rob said, trying to stop himself from shaking because he could barely hear what the woman was saying. “Yeah, he went missing this morning. Sorry, was I supposed to phone the school?”

“No, that’s not why I’m phoning,” Cotton said with a small laugh. “I’m just a little confused. You see, Felipinho’s in lessons. I’ve just been doing shapes with him.”

“He’s… he’s what?”

“Would you like to come to the school?” Cotton asked. “There must have been some kind of misunderstanding. The police are on their way. Would you like me to take him out of lessons?”

“I’m on my way,” Rob said, still trying to understand what was going on. “Don’t let him go anywhere until I’m there.”

 

“They’re fine, getting settled,” Niki reassured Kimi. “Did not know what to expect when you said Hanna would be coming too, but she seems like a good girl.”

“I’m glad my boyfriend’s girlfriend meets your approval,” Kimi mumbled, flicking through the CCTV of Alonso’s out of desperation. There had to be something…

“Do you not know how to lead an uncomplicated life?” Niki asked. “Is not actually that hard for a clever boy like you. Could maybe even stop things like this.”

“You think this is something to do with Hanna?” Kimi asked.

“No,” Niki said. “I am certain it is not Hanna. Am just saying you don’t make things easy on yourself.”

“Somebody who cares about her?” Kimi asked.

“Would not be surprised,” Niki said. “There is no use asking me about the message again. I have already told you everything I could find out about that.”

Everything he could find out had turned out to be absolutely nothing and Kimi was back to square one. Nico hadn’t even been able to give him a description of the person who had attacked Lewis. He had absolutely nothing to go on and it was getting worse.

“Look, I’m going to have to go, Kimi,” Niki said, softer now. “I have my own project I am working on.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Kimi said, falling back into the office chair. “Phone me if you think of anything else though, won’t you?”

“Of course I will,” Niki said, and Kimi could almost hear his fond smile. “Speak to you soon.”

“Goodbye.”

Kimi hung up first because he knew Niki wouldn’t and tossed the phone down onto his desk, rubbing his eyes and squinting at the grainy CCTV footage again. There was a chance there would be somebody watching the bar, making sure that Nico was out of the house. Or the person could have just been watching Nico’s house, but Kimi had no visual evidence of that and he was just going to have to hope for the best.

The footage was bad and, no matter how many times he told Fernando that he needed better security, the Spainard refused to change the cameras, so Kimi was forced the sit with his nose inches from the screen just to make anything out.

The images were boring and useless. People wondering through a quiet area of town on their late lunch breaks or doing the shopping or whatever it was normal people did. There was nothing Kimi would deem odd about it all. He’d seen security footage from Alonso’s before and it had just looked the exact same.

The only even possibly strange thing was the car that circled the street three times before it managed to find a parking space not far up the road from Kimi’s own car.

Kimi frowned, pausing the image when he realised what he had thought.

He didn’t recognise the car. It hadn’t been there when he had gone in, pulling up for the final time less than two minuets after he had watched himself disappear inside the bar. But he was pretty sure it wasn’t there when he left either.

Kimi hit the play button again, waiting to be told he was mad but, sure enough, the car pulled away just as Kimi left the bar, Nico following close behind him.

They’d been being watched.

 

“Mr Smedley, thank you for coming so soon…”

Rob ignored the teacher as he raced across the room to scoop Felipinho up. The five year old looked, confused, between Rob, his teacher, and the two police officers who were also in the private meeting room.

“Have I done something wrong?” he whispered into Rob’s ear. Nobody had told him what was going on, mostly because they didn’t know and the police weren’t allowed to ask questions without Rob being there.

Rob could feel the two police officers, the same ones he’d left at the house hours before, watching him and the same feeling of being judged flooded over him.

At least this time he knew where Felipinho was, though. He knew he was safe.

“No, you’re not in trouble,” Rob said, sitting down with Felipinho on his lap. “We were just worried about you when you weren’t in bed this morning. You know you can’t leave the house by yourself.”

“I wasn’t by myself,” Felipinho said, peering up at Rob. “I was with the lady?”

“What lady?” one of the police officers asked, gently. Rob glared at them. They’d been absolutely no help this morning and now they wanted to do something.

“The lady,” Felipinho said. “She took me to school.”

The police officers and Rob all turned to Felipinho’s teacher but she held up her hands.

“I didn’t see anybody drop Felipinho off this morning,” she said. “He came in by himself, like he usually does.”

“What did the lady look like?” the police officer asked, turning again to Felipinho.

“Is the lady in trouble?” he asked.

“Maybe,” Rob said. “You can’t go off with strangers. You know that.”

“She’s not a stranger,” Felipinho said. “I see her lots of times. She waves to me on the way to school all the time. I _had_ to go with her. She said you had gone to see Daddy and I had to go to school with her.”

Rob struggled to remember the person Felipinho was talking about, but he didn’t remember anybody waving at them on the way to school. Not that he had been paying that much attention recently, his mind always elsewhere or focused on ignoring the whispers of the other parents.

“What did the lady look like?” the police officer asked again.

“I don’t want her to be in trouble,” Felipinho said, turning to Rob. “She was being nice. She was helping you when you went to see Daddy.”

“I didn’t go to see him, Pea,” Rob said. “I was still there. She took you away and we need to find out who so that she doesn’t do it again.”

“But I _like_ her,” Felipinho said, his voice beginning to wobble a little. “She’s nice to me and she’s going to look after me. She promised.”

“Pea, she is a bad lady,” Rob said.

“No she isn’t,” Felipinho insisted, trying to squirm off of Rob’s lap.

“Pea?”

“She can’t be a bad lady,” Felipinho cried. “She’s not. She can’t be. Because she’s mummy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading and putting up with my crazy storyline. :)


	14. In which Kimi goes to see Nico and Sebastian makes people cry

Kimi wasn’t as surprised as he should have been when Jenson opened the door, but he couldn’t find the will to care about Nico Rosberg personal life, not when it was pretty obvious somebody was trying to get him killed.

“I need to speak to Nico,” he said when Jenson wouldn’t let him into the house.

“Now really isn’t a good time,” Jenson said, standing in the door way to stop Kimi coming any further.

“I don’t really give a shit. I need to speak to him.”

“Whatever it is, it can wait,” Jenson insisted.

“Cannot wait,” Kimi said. “Do not think he would be very happy with you stopping me either. Get out of my way.”

“He’s not in a state to deal with this right now,” Jenson snapped. “Go and speak to Kevin if it’s really that important. Nico won’t be any use to you anyway.”

“Who is it?” came a small voice from inside the house. Nico was sat on the step, still shaking a little, with tears in his eyes. Kimi managed to catch a glimpse of him over Jenson’s shoulder before Jenson stepped outside and closed the door over.

“What happened?”

“There’s… it’s Lewis…”

“I know about Lewis,” Kimi said. Nico hadn’t been in this state when he had left him. In fact, Kimi had been a little surprised about how well he was coping. That wasn’t the Nico he had grown up with as a child.

Jenson shook his head. “His condition got worse. He stopped breathing.”

“When was this?” Kimi asked.

“A couple of hours ago,” Jenson said. “Something went wrong with the machine or something just after we left. We… I forced Nico to come home and get some rest.”

Jenson shuddered at the thought of it. If they had been there, they would have heard the machine go wrong and they could have gotten the nurses and none of this would have happened. This was all his fault.

“You weren’t there when it happened?” Kimi asked.

Jenson shook his head. “We had just left.”

“There’s a chance someone went in there to screw with the machine?” Kimi asked. Then a thought occurred to him. “Shit, he’s not…?”

Jenson shook his head. “No. They managed to… you know… I don’t know. But he’s alive. They’re worried about his brain now. Saying it might not have enough oxygen or something. I really don’t know.”

Kimi nodded. “Get Nico to phone me when he’s feeling… better. I’m going to get this sorted out and he might want to be involved in that.”

Kimi turned away and made his way back down the garden path towards his car. 

“Wait!” Jenson called, skipping after him. “You think you know who’s doing this?”

Kimi shrugged. “I don’t know what I know until I’ve got proof. Get Nico to phone me.”

Emily hadn’t stopped crying from the moment they had set foot in the house and Sebastian was pretty sure it was driving him insane. He’d given up trying to figure out what was wrong with her and was now sitting on the floor beside the blankets she was curled up in, crying alongside her. Hanna had gone out with Dan to buy some shopping, leaving Sebastian alone with the baby. He shouldn’t have been left alone.

“What’s wrong with me?” Sebastian mumbled, his eyes shut because he couldn’t look at Emily. Her screaming ran through his head and he thought it might explode. That would probably be a good thing. It would give him some peace and quiet if his brain wasn’t connected to his ears. “How did I get us into all this? I’m such a stupid idiot. Should never have gone off with Kimi. I should have just stuck to what I knew and then none of us would be in this mess.”

Seb opened his eyes when the silence suddenly stopped. Maybe his head had exploded?

No.

Niki was with Emily on his lap, her had wrapped around his little finger. Emily looked up at him, curiously.

Sebastian gulped back tears.

“Sorry,” he whispered.

“Is ok,” Niki said, not looking at Sebastian but instead peering into Emily’s curious eyes. “Kimi was the same when he was a baby. Would not settle anywhere he didn’t know.”

“How did you…?”

“New face,” Niki explained. “Curiosity will quieten her for a moment. She will be crying again soon enough. Maybe she wants to be held?”

“I was holding her. It wasn’t working,” Sebastian said, quietly. Nothing had been working. “Sorry. For dumping all this on you.”

“I’ve no reason to believe you wanted to,” Niki said, smiling down at Emily and hoping to keep the quiet a little longer. “Is Kimi who should be saying sorry. To both of us.”

“He’s scared,” Sebastian croaked. 

“Know this,” Niki said. “Do you know why?”

“He said someone was trying to start the fight between him and Rosberg again,” Sebastian said, moving a little closer to Emily to see her face. He didn’t want her to start crying again though, so he made sure Niki was the focus of her attention. “But he’ll be able to sort it out. That’s what he does.”

“Perhaps,” Niki said. “Is doing his best.”

“I should be there, with him,” Sebastian said. “I should be there for him.”

“He would just be worried about you if you were there,” Niki said. “Makes sense for you to be here. And, besides, you were just saying you should never have even gotten involved with him.”

“It was simpler before,” Sebastian said. “I wasn’t happy, but at least things were simple. Everyone else was.”

“Do not believe for one second Hanna would be happy if she knew she was keeping you unhappy,” Niki said.

It was true and Sebastian knew it. He knew how she worried it was her fault that she was like the way he was. He didn’t know what to do to convince her it wasn’t. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. It was just him being useless.

“You need to tell her, though,” Niki said, carefully. “Is not fair on her or on you or on this one.”

He nodded down to Emily as she began to whine again. Sebastian screwed his eyes shut. She was going to start crying again. He couldn’t deal with more crying.

“I know,” he whispered. “But I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because if Hanna finds out about all this, she’ll take her away from me,” Sebastian said. “I can’t live without her. I need her.”

Niki nodded. “Can see this,” he said. “But she needs to know. Kimi won’t let you go without Emily. Trust me. Honesty is the only way.”

Niki lifted Emily up and placed her in Sebastian’s arms. The whimpering stopped as Emily looked up at her father, his eyes locked on hers and waiting for the crying to start again. It didn’t. He almost laughed.

He had not heard the front door open and close downstairs. He did not see Hanna across the landing, trying to come to terms with her world falling apart.


	15. Backstory 2: In which Rob doesn't get to eat dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, you don't need to read this one. You could probably figure out what happens in it without reading it. But I like this one (actually weird that I like a chapter, but there you go).

More back story.

It was late in the day and raining outside again. Rob had just settled down to eat dinner after another disastrous meeting with his family. They were trying to get him back in the family, after they’d disowned him. But now he had money – from his blessed Great Aunt Hilda who hated the entire family and knew this would piss them all right off – they wanted to know him again. Stuff the lot of them, Rob thought.

The rain against the window got harder and Rob winced. He felt sorry for whatever poor sap had gotten themselves out in that.

But never mind that. Food…

Before he could dig in, there was a knock at the door. He waited a few moments for Valtteri to answer it, before remembering the Finn had the week off and wasn’t in. He groaned a little, putting down his food, and went to answer the door.

A rain coat with a pair of drenched legs sticking out the end was stood shaking on his door step. 

“I… I… Is this Halfway Houses?” came a voice from beneath the coat’s hood.

“Yeah…” Rob said slowly. If this was another person come to sell him something…

The raincoat deflated a little and the hood was pulled down, revealing a very scared looking man with quite possibly the biggest eyes Rob had ever seen. There were tears streaming down his face and the rain had already begun to plaster his hair onto his head.

“Am sorry… but I’ve got nowhere to go,” he said. “And my friend,” he waved back to the car that was waiting on the street. “He said I could come here. And you could help me.”

“I’m sorry,” Rob said, and he genuinely was. He didn’t like turning people away. That wasn’t what this place was about. “But we’ve not got any room at the moment.”

“Please,” the man begged. “Is just me and my son. He’s just a baby. We won’t take up much room. Was staying on my friend’s sofa but cannot do that anymore. Please.”

“You… you have a child?” Rob asked. Well, that was different. He couldn’t turn somebody away if they had a child with them. That would be wrong. He had a duty of care, after all. He had decided he was going to look after these people and he couldn’t let them take a baby onto the streets.

The man nodded. “He is in the car.”

Rob closed his eyes, trying to figure something out. He really didn’t have anywhere to put the small family. All the houses he owned were full – the last one filled that afternoon – and he had no idea when anybody would be leaving.

“I’ve got…” He sighed and rubbed his head. This was going to be really unprofessional, but he was sure the people who sent the families to him would understand. “I’ve got a spare bedroom you can have until a house becomes available. It’s less than ideal, but it’s the best I can offer you.”

“Will take it,” the man said, without even thinking. “Thank you. Thank you so much. Will just… get out things. Is not much. I promise.”

Without even bothering to pull his hood back up, he skipped down the stairs and to the car that was parked.

“Hang on a second,” Rob called after him, trapped in the house as he didn’t have any shoes on. “I don’t even know your name.”

“Felipe,” the man called back, bringing a car seat out of the back of the car. “And this is Felipinho.”

He brought the baby back first, setting the car seat down a little inside the front hallway before running back down the steps and the garden to bring two small carrier bags and a changing bag into the house.

“Is that all you’ve got?” Rob asked.

Felipe nodded, looking down at the things as Rob closed the door. “There was more, but not anymore.”

“You’ve not… not got a cot?” he asked.

Felipe shook his head, tears beginning to swim in his eyes again.

“Ok,” Rob said. “Have you eaten today?”

“Had breakfast,” Felipe said, nodding.

“And nothing since?” Rob asked.

“No, but he has,” Felipe said, nodding down to the sleeping child. “He gets all his food and his bottles at the right times. He doesn’t miss out.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t,” Rob said. How many times had he heard about parents starving themselves to feed the children? It was worse with babies, who’s food was stupidly expensive and the little choice meant parents had to spend that much on the food. “There’s a meal on the table in the living room. You can have it if you want it.”

“No, really, it’s ok.”

“You need to eat,” Rob said. “It’s fine. I can make another. Believe me.”

Felipe peered past Rob into the living room. The meal was sat on the small coffee table where Rob had left it, untouched. 

“I can’t.”

“Go and get something in you,” Rob insisted, taking the two carrier bags from him. “I’ll take these upstairs ok.”

“No, I will-.”

Rob dropped the bags and pulled Felipe into the living room. He pushed the smaller man, still wrapped in the drenched rain coat, into his arm chair and placed the meal on his lap. 

“Eat.”

Felipe looked between the food on his lap and Rob. “Thank you.”

“Your stuff will be just upstairs,” Rob insisted. 

Felipe nodded weakly and, trying to ignore the fact Rob was watching him, dug the fork into the food. Rob smiled when Felipe had put a forkful of minced meat into his mouth and then went back into the hall.

Felipinho was still asleep in his car seat.

How somebody could lose track of their finances so much that they let their kid be homeless, Rob didn’t know, but he knew that most – if not all – of the people who passed through the Halfway Houses were just victims of circumstance. At first he thought they had brought this on themselves. They must have overspent on things, thought other things were more important than the rent because how could the landlord throw them out onto the streets? And then it happened and they would be in shock. But that had not once been the case, which had shocked Rob a little. Some people had a perfectly good job and their own house and were living very happily, until they lost that job, and then there was no money coming in and, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t support themselves. The authorities could only help so much, and then the family would be sent to him, where they could live rent free until they got themselves back on their feet.

“Where’s his mum?” Rob asked, returning after putting the bags in the spare bedroom. He’d left the child and car seat in the hallway, where Felipe could see them from his seat.

Felipe stopped eating and put the fork down. “Do not know.”

“Oh,” Rob said. He probably shouldn’t have asked that.

“She could not cope,” Felipe said. “Said she did not want him anymore. Tried to get her help but she wouldn’t listen. And she left.”

He really shouldn’t have asked that.

“Sorry.”

“Is not your fault,” Felipe said, with a weak smile. “Is just the way some things are.”

His eyes were on the car seat in the hall and he had to shake himself back into motion after a couple of seconds.

“Is just the way things are,” Felipe insisted, more to himself than to Rob. “Would rather him to her anyway.”

He forced himself to smile and dug the fork back into the food again.

Rob smiled back, but it wasn’t real and he wasn’t even fooling himself.

“Had a job, and a house,” Felipe said, quietly. “But then she left, and I had to look after Felipinho. Thought I could cope, but obviously could not.”

Rob nodded, having heard that story countless times before. Victims of circumstance the lot of them.


	16. In which Felipe doesn't remember something important and Nico doesn't listen

“Hi,” Rob said, his smile forced as he made his way into Felipe’s new room. He’d been moved off of the ward he had been on, away from the other comatose patients, and the new room felt much fresher. It was supposed to be settling but, for some reason, it wasn’t.

Felipe looked up and a grin spread across his face. It looked almost normal and Rob’s smile became easier in a heartbeat.

“Thought you had forgotten about me,” Felipe said.

Instantly, the easiness of the smile was lost and his heart sank. He’d known he was going to have to explain this. Felipe was the only one who knew what Felipinho’s mother had been like. Or he had been. Whether he remembered that now was a different matter.

“How could I forget about you?”

“Managed to forget about you easily enough,” Felipe reminded him, still grinning.

Rob considered this and nodded, sitting in the chair that stood between Felipe’s bed and the window.

“We had a little bit of a scare,” he said, slowly, unsure how Felipe was going to react. “Pea went missing.”

“What?”

“No, no, it’s fine, we found him,” Rob said, quickly. He probably should have mentioned that first. “He’s ok. He was at school. But… someone took him from our house to school, without me knowing.”

Felipe frowned. It was clear he was as confused as to why someone would do that as Rob was.

“He, Pea, seems to think it was his mum,” Rob said.

Felipe’s expression hadn’t changed. Clearly he didn’t remember what had happened between Felipinho’s mother and himself, and Rob hadn’t mentioned it. It was a small comfort, though. Felipe didn’t remember him. At least he didn’t remember _her_ either.

“Felipinho doesn’t know his mother,” Rob explained, slowly. “I don’t know all the ins and outs of it – you never told me – but she left when he was only a baby and, as far as I know, she hasn’t been in touch since.”

“Why… why would she leave?” Felipe asked, confused and not as shocked as Rob thought he would be.

“I don’t know,” Rob said. “You said she couldn’t cope or something. I really don’t know. It happened before I met you.”

As horrified as Rob was about the fact that anybody could just abandon their child, he was secretly glad she had. If she hadn’t, Felipe would never have wound up on his doorstep and they would never have been together. Sometimes bad things happen for a reason, he always told people, and if this wasn’t the best example of that he didn’t know what was.

Although he couldn’t imagine anything good happening because of this bad thing.

“Then… how does he know it’s his mum?” Felipe asked.

“She must have told him,” Rob said.

“Or she was back in contact and I didn’t tell you,” Felipe said.

“No,” Rob said, instantly. That thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. Why would it? Felipe told him everything. That was why they worked. There were no secrets. They told each other everything. Even if Rob did have to tell Felipe five times sometimes. “No, you would have told me.”

“Why?” Felipe said. “Seems personal. Would be one of the things I would only tell…” He fell silent quickly and his eyes fell onto the blankets, fiddling with them.

“Only tell…” Rob prompted, looking up when Felipe fell silent.

“Would only tell people who it mattered to,” Felipe said. That sounded like a much better end to the sentence than he had previously had. Because Rob mattered. He was his best friend. Of course Rob mattered.

Rob gulped. He couldn’t tell him. Felipe needed to remember how they were himself. He couldn’t feel like he was obliged to pretend. But Rob needed him to remember quickly. He couldn’t cope like this.

“You would have told me,” Rob insisted. “I love Pea like he’s my own. You would have told me if his mother was back on the scene.”

Felipe shrugged. “You know me better than I do.”

Rob sighed. “Only Pea saw the woman who took him. We’re trying to get him to tell us what she looked like, but he’s scared. He doesn’t want her to get into trouble because she’s put it in his head that she’s his mum.”

Felipinho had never spoken much about his mum. His school was good enough to not put it in his head that he needed a mum and he had two people who cared about him more than anything else in the world. As far as Felipinho was concerned – or he had been – he didn’t need a mum.

Why he was so protective of her now, Rob didn’t know.

Unless Felipe was right. Unless they had been meeting before and Pea had been told not to tell Rob…

No, Felipe would have told him.

“We’re trying though because, whether she’s his real mum or not, she can’t just take him away,” Rob said, trying to reassure himself as he had been all the way here. “You’ve looked after him by yourself for five years and she can’t just jump back into his life.”

Felipe nodded as if he understood. He must have heard the desperation in Rob’s voice. It had to be true.

“It would really help if you could remember what she was like,” Rob said, quietly. “When we find her, which we will, the police are going to want to know if she’s Pea’s real mum. And if you could remember her, it would be so much easier than a DNA test.”

Something fell like a led weight onto Felipe’s chest and he was almost physically winded. He couldn’t remember and there was no point to trying to get him to remember. It was no use.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, looking away from Rob because he couldn’t stand to see the disappointment on his face again.

“It’s not your fault, don’t worry,” Rob said, gently, taking Felipe’s hand. “You’ll remember eventually, and there’s nobody blaming you for not remembering. You didn’t do this to yourself.”

“I’m so useless.”

“You’re not,” Rob insisted. “You are one of the most amazing people I have ever met. And you’ll get through this, because you get through everything.”

“But the woman,” Felipe said. “She’s not going to wait for me to remember if she’s somebody I know or not, is she.”

“Don’t worry about her,” Rob said. “If you don’t remember you don’t remember, and worrying about her isn’t going to do anyone any good. The police will deal with all that. Don’t worry. You just focus on getting better.”

Felipe finally noticed that Rob was holding his hand, rubbing circles into the back of it with his thumb. He tried to ignore it but, once he’d noticed it, he couldn’t. He wasn’t sure but… he thought he liked it.

“I’m bringing Pea after school,” Rob said. The five year old had insisted that he stayed at school, and Rob had made sure they didn’t even let him leave the classroom until he got there. “If that’s still ok?”

Felipe nodded. “Want to see him. He’ll make me remember things, am sure.”

Rob nodded. “But, don’t be too upset if he doesn’t. He loves you, whether you remember or not.”

“He’ll help be,” Felipe insisted. “Cannot forget someone I love.”

 

“Why is your CCTV so shit?” Kimi moaned upon entrance to the still closed bar.

“Did not find anything?” Fernando asked, unsurprised.

“No, I _did_ find something,” Kimi said. “But can’t make out much because your CCTV is shit.”

Fernando stopped midway through putting a glass away. “You found something?”

“Someone was watching the meeting,” Kimi said. He didn’t say any more. He needed to speak to Nico, but knew he wouldn’t be in much state to actually be any help at the moment. He also needed to go to the hospital and find out if what had happened to Lewis could have been intentional. But first, he needed a drink.

Fernando was on this before Kimi could say anything.

“Should I be worried?” Fernando asked.

Kimi shrugged. He didn’t know. He didn’t care.

“And you and Nico?”

“That’s sorted out,” Kimi said. He was almost certain nothing was going to happen between him and Nico, and was unsurprised by the sigh of relief the Spaniard gave. After last time, he couldn’t say he blamed him.

Fernando slid the glass into Kimi’s waiting hand and leaned against the bar, his glass cleaning duties forgotten.

“Why would someone want to do this?” he asked. “Have not even done anything to anybody outside the town, have you?”

“Not that I know of,” Kimi said, though he still had Niki’s warning ringing in his ears. Sometimes his mess reached further than he thought and he needed to start to keep a track of that. “Maybe.”

It wasn’t reassuring.

“You will get this all sorted out though, no?” Fernando asked.

“Don’t I always,” Kimi said, turning to the drink.

Fernando sighed and returned to the wet glasses he was supposed to be drying. Kimi was the last person to go to when you needed information to be settled.

 

“I want to go and see him,” Nico said, quietly.

“You heard what the hospital said,” Jenson said. “They won’t let you see him until after surgery, and that might not even be until after visiting hours.”

“Not Lewis,” Nico said. “Kimi.”

“Why… why would you want to?” Jenson asked, confused. As far as he was aware, even if they were working together, Nico never wanted anything to do with him.

“Because he’s trying to sort this all out,” Nico said. “And I am supposed to be helping, aren’t I? I am in charge, aren’t I?”

“Of course you are,” Jenson said, even more confused by the sudden outburst.

“Then I’m going to see him,” Nico said, and made to leave the house.

“Hang on a second,” Jenson said, quickly stopping him. “Let me call Toto at least.”

“Why?”

“Because I don’t trust him and I’m not letting you go by yourself,” Jenson said.

“I’m a big boy, Jenson,” Nico said, shrugging him away. “I am capable of looking after myself.”

“I know,” Jenson said, but Nico wasn’t listening, marching out of the house and slamming the door shut after him.


	17. In which Kimi tries to get things done, Nico wants to help, and Felipe remembers something important

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again to everyone who's, for some reason, still reading this. :)

The hospital was confusing but, eventually, Kimi found the ward Lewis was on, recovering from his second operation in as many days. It wasn’t a pleasant sight. What surprised Kimi the most, though, was the only other visitor.

“Shouldn’t you be helping dad?” he asked.

Toto jumped up and turned to face Kimi. For a moment, he was sure there was a hint of guilt in his eye, but that disappeared as soon as he pulled himself together.

“He thinks it’s more important I sort this out,” Toto said. “And so do I.”

“It’s all sorted out,” Kimi said. “Whatever this is, it isn’t coming between Nico and me.”

“You’re sure of that?” Toto asked, sceptically.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing,” Toto said. “Maybe you don’t know Nico as well as you thought, though.” He looked down at Lewis again before standing. “Anyway, I should get going. Like you said, Niki needs me.”

 

“Daddy?” Felipinho asked. He was still holding Rob’s hand, tighter now than before. He took a small step into the room, but didn’t go any further.

Felipe looked at him, and the blank look on his face nearly broke Rob’s heart again, then it changed. Felipe’s eyes grew wide in recognition and Felipinho’s worried face turned into a grin.

“Felipinho?”

“Daddy!” The child was airborne for at least three seconds as he dived across the room and onto his father’s bed, Rob following quickly after him and calling for him to be careful. Felipinho squirmed onto the bed and beneath his father’s arm whilst Rob waited in the chair beside the bed. “Knew you would remember me really,” Felipinho said, grinning. “Knew Rob was just being silly.”

“Of course I remember you,” Felipe said, crying as he pressed a kiss into Felipinho’s hair. “I love you.”

“And you remember Rob?” Felipinho asked, excitedly.

Rob gulped involuntarily and tried to smile but it didn’t work.

Felipe looked at him again, but his smile fell back into the same horrified confusion as the first time. And he didn’t remember. It just wasn’t there.

“It’s ok,” Rob said, even though it wasn’t and if he didn’t get better soon, this was going to kill him. “It’ll come eventually.”

“I’m sorry,” Felipe whispered.

“It’s ok,” Rob repeated.

“You don’t… you don’t remember?” Felipinho asked, confused. “But…”

“Pea,” Rob warned.

“Sorry,” Felipinho said, snuggling closer to his father. “Do you get to come home soon?”

“Soon,” Felipe said, kissing Felipinho’s hair again.

“I miss you,” Felipinho said. “It isn’t the same with just Rob and Valtteri.”

“Valtteri?” Felipe asked, looking up at Rob, but it was Felipinho who answered. Rob could barely speak.

“He lives with us,” he said. “And looks after me when Rob is here with you.”

“Oh, yes,” Felipe said, trying to keep himself from sounding too disappointed. It didn’t work, and Rob picked it up almost immediately. But he couldn’t think why Felipe would be disappointed.

Before he could ask, Felipinho decided he had much more important things to discuss, like the football matches his father had missed and, once the topic of football was been brought up, there was no going back.

The disappointed “oh” wasn’t forgotten by Rob, though.

 

When Kimi returned from his investigation at the hospital, there was a lump sat on his front doorstep, leaning against the door. The lump appeared to be asleep and didn’t move when he came nearer. Kimi sighed. If this was another person come to moan about him “not doing his job”…

“Nico?”

Nico jumped up at the voice and blinked in confusion at his surroundings before he woke up fully.

“You fell asleep?” Kimi said with a smirk.

“I wouldn’t have if you hadn’t taken so long,” Nico said, frowning with enough effort that it could be classed as a pout. “Are you going to let me in or what?”

“Why are you here first?”

“To ambush you and claim the town as my own. What do you think?”

Kimi sighed. He’d been spending too much time with British sarcasm. “Let me get past and we can go inside.”

He made no apology for the mess as he led Nico inside, the mess which caused Nico to physically grimace and he wondered how Sebastian could spend any time here at all.

“Where is Sebastian?” he asked.

“Somewhere safe,” Kimi said, not looking at Nico. “If they could do that to Lewis…”He didn’t like to think about that though. Sebastian was safe and that wasn’t going to change, so there was no point thinking about it. “I guess you came here about Lewis.”

“It’s not just about Lewis, though, is it?” Nico said. “Is it?”

He wasn’t sure. He felt like the whole thing could be going on right in front of him and he would still have no idea what was going on. Everything was a mess and he was just so tired all the time it was hard to keep a track of what was what.

“I don’t think so,” Kimi said, sitting down. He didn’t bother to offer Nico a seat. The German had barely taken a step away from the front door. “Am still not entirely sure. Think maybe someone messed with the machine at the hospital. Is possible. Spoke to the doctor and she said it was unlikely, but more unusual things have happened.”

He didn’t mention anything else he had found about at the hospital.

“Someone tried to kill him again?” Nico asked.

“Maybe,” Kimi said. “Have been trying to think of people who would want to get to me.”

“I’m sure that’s a short list,” Nico muttered.

Kimi ignored him. “But maybe they’re trying to get to you?”

Nico frowned and finally looked at Kimi. “Me? Why would they be trying to get to me?”

“I don’t know,” Kimi said with a small shrug. “That’s your business. Is there anyone?”

Nico thought for a moment. Really thought, because if something had happened to Lewis and it was his fault, he would never forgive himself. But nothing sprang to mind. He shook his head.

“Think, Nico,” Kimi said.

“I am,” Nico snapped. “There is nobody. Must be you.”

“Of course it is,” Kimi muttered.

“You’re the one fucking people’s boyfriends,” Nico muttered.

“Says the guy who was cheating on his and made him almost run over a child,” Kimi said.

“Leave Lewis out of this,” Nico snapped.

“Leave Seb out of this,” Kimi replied, calmly.

“This is why I don’t like working with you,” Nico snapped. “You’re such a child.”

“Am just trying to figure out who is doing this to us,” Kimi said, calmly. “You are the one being petty.”

Nico glared at him when he couldn’t think of anything to say in reply, but he didn’t want to admit Kimi was right.

“Fine,” he said, eventually. “What do you want me to do?”

“You’re putting me in charge?” Kimi asked.

“Someone has tried to kill my boyfriend, twice,” Nico said. “I don’t think I’m in a very good mental state to be leading the investigation right now. And besides, you seem to know what you’re doing.”

“Ok,” Kimi said, trying to stop himself smiling. “I have a bit of a plan…”

 

“What’s the matter?” Sebastian asked, uncertainly. Hanna hadn’t spoken to him all day. It hadn’t been obvious, but he’d had noticed it, eventually. She’d barely been in the same room as him for more than five minutes at a time, and he was worried about her.

“Nothing,” Hanna lied, looking down at Emily as she played so she didn’t have to look at Sebastian.

“I know there’s something wrong,” Seb said. “And so does Dan.”

“I thought you weren’t talking to Dan,” Hanna said.

“I kind of have to,” Seb said. “Don’t change the subject. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Hanna?”

“You,” Hanna snapped. “You’re what’s wrong. You treat me like shit and the moment I say anything about it, you threaten to jump off a bridge or something.”

“I have never treated you like shit,” Sebastian said, confused. “Hanna, I love you.”

“Funny, that sounds a lot like what you tell Kimi,” Hanna said.

Sebastian froze. She didn’t know. She couldn’t know.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, slowly.

“Don’t be an idiot, it’s written all over your face,” Hanna said, tears beginning to fall down her face again. “Don’t lie to me, Sebastian, please.”

Sebastian gulped and tried to rub Hanna’s back, but she shrugged him away. “I’m not lying, Hanna. Tell me what’s wrong and I’ll sort it, I promise.”

“You. Love. Kimi. Räikkönen,” Hanna spat out each tear choked word, her voice beginning to unsettle Emily. Both things made Sebastian cringe.

“Hanna, don’t be silly. Come here.”

“You’re lying again, don’t treat me like an idiot,” Hanna snapped. “If you cared about me, even the tiniest part, you’d tell me the truth and you’d do it now.”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“Liar!” Hanna shouted, and Emily’s wailing began again, but Hanna didn’t even notice. “I heard you, Sebastian. I heard you telling Niki. God, I’ve known for weeks. Of course I have. It’s obvious. I tried to convince myself I was making it up, but obviously not.” The anger quickly fell from her voice as she struggled to speak and she slid to the floor, shaking so hard she would have fallen over if she’d stood any longer. “Obviously not,” she whispered.

Sebastian crouched down beside Hanna, Emily’s cries almost splitting his head in two.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. It just did.”

“Just go, Seb,” Hanna whispered. “Who has been there for you, though everything? Through melt down and break down? Who has waited for you when she was nine months pregnant with your child when you had run off and tried to kill yourself? Me. I was the one there. I was the one who looked after you. I’m the one who cares for you. Why don’t you see that?”

“I do.”

“So you just don’t care,” Hanna said. “Just go, Sebastian. I don’t need you and neither does Emily.”

“You can’t take her from me,” Sebastian said, uncertainly. He picked Emily up, bouncing with her to try to quieten her down. “She’s my child too.”

“ _Your child_. Funny you remember that now. Didn’t remember that for the first three months of her life.”

“That’s not fair, I was ill then,” Sebastian said, holding Emily to his chest and bouncing to try to stop the crying. “I’m not going without her.”

“Of course,” Hanna spat. “The only reason you were pretending to care about me was because of her.”

“I do care about you,” Sebastian said.

“Give Emily to me and go,” Hanna said, standing.

“I am not going anywhere and I’m not leaving her with anyone,” Sebastian said, holding her closer. The cries were slowly quietening but if Hanna was going to start shouting again that wouldn’t last long. “I care about you Hanna. I don’t love you, no. And I’m sorry. I never meant for that to happen, but it just did. But I care about you.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means I’m not going anywhere,” Sebastian said. “And we’re going to settle this like grown-ups.”


	18. In which Rob gets some messages, Hanna leaves, and Pea ruins his shoes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe things are going to slow down a little (posting wise) because NaNoWriMo starts tomorrow and I will only be writing a thousand words for this story. But still will carry on posting (until everyone gets sick of the bad writing and stops reading). Thanks, as always, for commenting. They always cheer me up. I don't know why you read this, but you do, and it makes me so happy. :)

Jenson was sat in the dark in the living room by the time Nico returned from Kimi’s. It had begun to rain on the walk home and his usual perfect hair was now stuck to his hair but he couldn’t care less. He had a list of things to do. Kimi had given him a glimpse into his mind when he’d revealed his thoughts on the case and Nico didn’t like it. He shuddered as he remembered Kimi’s thinking.

“Jenson?” Nico called, uncertainly, the entire situation like a bad imitation of what had happened a couple of days ago with Lewis, and he didn’t like it.

Jenson jumped up at the sound of Nico’s voice and rushed over. “Are you ok? Nico, I was worried about you.”

“I went to see Kimi,” he said.

“You were gone for hours,” Jenson said, gripping his shoulders so tightly it almost hurt.

“He was out,” Nico said. “So I waited.”

“Oh, Nico,” Jenson said, with a small sigh, pulling Nico closer and into a hug. Nico fell into the settling embraced and allowed himself to forget everything for a couple of seconds. “You’re sure you’re alright?” Jenson asked.

Nico nodded and pulled away. “Fine. Just a little tired. I’m going to go to bed.”

“Ok,” Jenson said, kissing the top of Nico’s head. “I’m going to go home. But if you need me, phone, and I’ll be here. Ok?”

“Ok,” Nico said, smiling as Jenson kissed him again, before going to get his coat and leaving. As soon as the front door was shut, though, as soon as he was alone, the shaking began. He was not ok. This was not going to be ok.

 

Rob did not sleep. He couldn’t. He was sat up all night, listening, but there was no movement in the house and, by the time his alarm went off at half past six, he was convinced he had gone mad. All the locks had been changed and Pea had been given a stern telling off. There was no way it was going to happen again. Even so, before he went downstairs, Rob checked Felipinho was ok. Barely visible under his blankets, the child was sleeping. He was fine.

Content, Rob went downstairs to make breakfast. Everything was fine.

Valtteri was downstairs and sat at the breakfast table when he came in. It didn’t surprise him. The Finn had been on night duty, the out of hours’ emergency contact for the houses.

“There was a phone call for you,” he said, when Rob came in. “Two, actually, but did not manage to take the second one. Was busy.”

“Go on then,” Rob said, his back to Valtteri as he made tea. He couldn’t think why anyone would need to phone that late at night, but if he was only being told now it couldn’t have been that much of an emergency.

“One I answered was from Räikkönen,” Valtteri said. “Wants to speak with you today. Said he would meet you at the school after you dropped Felipinho off in the morning.”

“Räikkönen wants to see me?” Rob asked, his hands stilling for a moment.

“Yes.”

“Did he say why?”

“No.”

“Weird,” Rob said.

“Maybe is finally starting to try to find out who was driving the car,” Valtteri said. “Or who took Felipinho.”

“Maybe,” Rob agreed quietly, but he wasn’t really sure if he believed that. Räikkönen wouldn’t need to see him to do that. And, if he didn’t need to, he wouldn’t want to. No, Rob had an idea what this was about, but there was no way Räikkönen could know about that…“And the other phone call?”

“Didn’t manage to take it,” Valtteri said. “Was Hanna’s mobile number. But didn’t leave a message. Phoned her back but she didn’t answer.”

“Hanna?” Rob asked, even more confused. He hadn’t seen her the day before and had been a little worried but he’d just thought Emily was ill or she had been more worried about Sebastian than taking the child to nursery.

Valtteri nodded. “Do not know what she wanted. Did not leave a message.”

“Alright,” Rob said, sitting down opposite Valtteri with his tea. “I’ll phone her when I finish with Räikkönen. I’ll probably see her on the way to the school. Anything else?”

“No.”

“The new family settling in ok?”

“Have not been any problems that I am aware of,” Valtteri said, which was as much as a confirmation as Rob was going to get.

“Alright then,” Rob said.

“Are you alright?” Valtteri said.

This was the most confusing of all the messages. Valtteri had never once asked if he was alright.

“Yeah,” Rob said, slowly. “I think so.”

“Is ok to be not alright,” Valtteri said. “Do not have to be all the time.”

Rob stood, still a little confused, but he was pretty sure this was Valtteri’s version of concern.

“Thanks.”  


“Where is everyone?” Sebastian asked as he came down the stairs. Only Dan was sat on the sofa, where he had been sleeping. He gulped, guiltily. Seb recognised the look instantly. “Dan, where is everyone?”

“Gone,” Dan said, quietly.

“Gone? Gone where?”

“Hanna wanted to leave,” Dan said, not able to look at Sebastian. “She said she couldn’t stand to be around you anymore and she wanted to leave.”

“You… you let her go,” Sebastian said, staring at Dan. He bounced across the room to go after them but Dan grabbed his arm.

“They went in the night,” Dan said. “Niki’s driving them home. She was hysterical.”

“You let her go,” Sebastian said again, shrugging Dan away.

“No,” Dan said. “I tried to make her stay. She asked me to drive them first but I wouldn’t.”

“Drive me,” Sebastian said.

“I can’t,” Dan said. “It’s dangerous back there and Kimi would kill me for taking you back.”

“Then I’ll drive,” Sebastian said. “Give me your keys.”

“Seb, don’t be stupid,” Dan said.

“She has taken my child, Dan,” Sebastian said. “I can’t just let them go. They’re my family.”

“She’ll go back to the town and Kimi’ll sort this out,” Dan said.

“I don’t want him to sort it out,” Seb snapped. “I’ll sort this out. I’m a grown man. I don’t need somebody to come to the rescue every time I have a problem. I’m sorting this out. Now drive me home or give me the keys. I need to speak to her, at least.”

“Seb,” Dan tried, but it was no use. Sebastian pulled from his grip again and was out of the house before he could stop him. Dan followed quickly, running after his friend as he made his way towards the car. “Seb, you are not driving in this state.”

“I need to speak to Hanna,” Sebastian spat.

“Fine,” Dan gave in. “But let me drive, ok?”

 

Rob was on high alert as they walked to school that morning, Felipinho’s hand clutched tightly in his, much to the child’s disappointment. He’d stopped complaining about being unable to race ahead, though, and was now walking in silence, dragging his feet a little on purpose to annoy Rob. He still couldn’t see that there was anything wrong with ‘the lady’. Rob refused to believe it was his mother. She was gone. She couldn’t even know they were living here, could she?

Unless she’d been speaking to Felipe…

Rob refused to believe that as well. She was just a crazy woman who kidnapped children and took them to school, that was all. And it was not going to happen again.

He didn’t see anything unusual or suspicious on the way to school. He didn’t see anybody waving. She must have left. She must have known she was going to get in trouble and gone.

He also didn’t see Hanna, which was a little more worrying. If she had phoned him in the middle of the night, it must have been an emergency. But if it had been an emergency, she would have phoned again, until she’d gotten an answer, or come round like she had done before. Rob had assumed the phone call would have been to tell him that Sebastian was back and safe, or that they knew where he was. Maybe that was it. She’d found him and had gone to bring him back.

He would go to see her after meeting with Kimi, he decided. Just to make sure that she really was ok.

“Pea, stop dragging your feet or you’ll ruin your shoes.”

“Don’t care.”

“You know what happens to people who drag their feet, don’t you?” Rob said, trying to distract himself from the thought of Hanna not being ok.

“What?” Felipinho asked, looking up at him.

“They don’t grow,” Rob said. “They shred away their feet and legs and then they’re small even when they’re a grown up.”

“Is that what happened to Daddy?” Felipinho asked.

“Yep.”

“I don’t believe you,” Felipinho said, grinning.

“Ask Daddy, it’s true,” Rob insisted, trying to stop himself from laughing.

“I can’t, he won’t remember,” Felipinho pointed out.

Rob sighed. There was nothing he could do to argue to that.

But Felipinho did stop dragging his feet. If only the rest of his problems could be solved that easily.


	19. In which Rob gets annoyed and Dan says some stupid things.

“You got my message,” Kimi asked, waiting at the gates as Rob emerged from the cage of screaming children.

“Yeah,” Rob said, uncertainly. “What’s this about?”

“Do you mind if we go somewhere quieter?” Kimi said, nodding towards his car.

Rob froze. “I said I’d go and meet Hanna,” he said, watching as Kimi tried to lead him towards the car.

“It’s ok,” Kimi said, stopping and waiting for Rob to catch up. He didn’t need to know that Hanna wouldn’t be home. He could find that out for himself. “It’s just a talk.”

Seeing no real way out of it, and hoping this meant the Finn had gone at least some way into finding out who had been driving the car, Rob followed Kimi into the car.

“How do you put up with that every day,” Kimi asked as he closed the door and the happy screams of the children were silenced.

Rob shrugged. “You get used to it.”

“Is there a reason they’re screaming?” Kimi asked.

“They’re playing,” Rob said, bluntly. He hoped Kimi would hurry up and tell him whatever it was he couldn’t tell Valtteri.

“Oh.”

“Was there a reason you wanted to speak to me, or did you just want to talk about school children?” Rob asked. “Because we could have done that on the phone.”

Kimi’s face almost showed surprise. He hadn’t expected such an outburst from somebody he had always known to be calm. He hadn’t actually been to see Rob since the accident though, and the messages he’d left on Kimi’s voice mail had been much less than calm. Obviously this had gotten to him more than expected.

“You went to see Lewis yesterday,” Kimi said.

“Yeah,” Rob said, slowly, hoping he could keep this under control. “I was at the hospital and I wanted to speak to Nico. I thought he would be there, but he wasn’t.”

“Somebody was there, though,” Kimi said.

Rob shook his head. “It was just Lewis.”

“If you’re lying to me, Rob…”

“What?” Rob asked. “What will you do if I’m lying to you? Because I have already gone through anything anybody could possibly do to threaten me. Felipe nearly died. He has no idea who I am. Someone tried to kidnap Pea and now his mother might be back. So, which one are you going to choose? _If I’m lying to you_.”

“If you’re lying to me,” Kimi said, slowly. “I’m not going to be able to sort this out. Who was with Lewis and what did they tell you not to say?”

“Nobody was with Lewis,” Rob insisted.

“I’ve been to the hospital Rob, and I know that isn’t true,” Kimi said. “And I also think I know who almost killed your boyfriend. All that is messed up in all this, so telling me the truth is helping yourself.”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Rob said, quickly. “We’re just friends.”

“All these lies, Rob,” Kimi said. “It’s no wonder why the kid goes off with strangers.”

“What?”

“Who was with Lewis?”

Rob sighed. It couldn’t do much harm, could it? “Toto,” he said, quietly. “But, if he finds out I’ve told you…”

“He won’t,” Kimi said. “And what did he tell you not to say?”

Rob bit his lip this time. This one was a lot worse. This one would be the one that got him in trouble. This one would be the one that got his little family hurt. He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“Rob.”

“He didn’t tell me not to tell anything,” Rob said. “He just doesn’t like people to think he’s soft. This really upset him. That’s all.”

“Did Toto have anything to do with the attack on Lewis?” Kimi asked.

“How am I supposed to know?” Rob replied.

“Yes or no, Smedley, it’s really not that hard,” Kimi said.

“As far as I know, no,” Rob said. “If this is how you’re finding out who did this to Felipe, it’s no wonder why it’s taking this long.”

Kimi didn’t reply, didn’t mention the fact that he already knew what had happened that night, or that protecting Toto was making this worse on himself. He didn’t even point out that he knew Rob was lying.

After a few minutes of silence, Kimi stopped the car. Rob peered out the window and was unsurprised to find he was home.

“Thank you,” he said, without a hint of thanks in his voice.

“This a lot more complicated than you think,” Kimi warned as Rob got out of the car. “You should be careful whose side you chose.”

“I’m on Felipe’s side,” Rob said climbing out of the car. “And I don’t care if that meets your approval or not.”

 

“Seb, we need to talk,” Dan tried.

“Not now.”

“Yes now,” Dan said. They’d been sat in silence for nearly three hours and Dan was scared they were going to be sat in silence for the rest of the journey as well. And they really did need to get this sorted out. “I care about you.”

“You’re being paid to care about me,” Sebastian said.

“Why do you never listen?” Dan snapped. “It’s like you want that to be true. It’s as if you want everyone to hate you and to just put up with your existence. But that’s not true. Look around, Seb. People care about you. Me, Kimi, Hanna. We all care about you, and not because you’ve tricked us into it or because we’re being paid. Because you’re a nice person and we like you. Why is that so hard to understand?”

He sighed, glancing at Sebastian every few seconds as he drove. He knew he shouldn’t have snapped like that. Sebastian was ill and he shouldn’t be angry at him because of it, but it was so frustrating. He wasn’t angry at Sebastian, he knew, he was angry at the thing he had inside his head. Sebastian wouldn’t see it that way, though, and he should have known that.

“Look, sorry,” Dan said. “I didn’t mean to snap.”

“Tell me what you really think, why don’t you?” Sebastian said, sinking further into his chair. They hated him. They all hated him. Ok, maybe not Kimi, yet, though he’d manage to turn that around eventually. And why wouldn’t they? He was annoying and selfish. He could _see_ that. He could see why none of them liked him but… “I just really needed it to be true with you Dan.”

“It is,” Dan said, softly. “I took the money from Kimi because I was being paid to do nothing. I could not think of an easier way to make money.”

“But I’m an annoying piece of shit.”

“Yeah, but I like that about you,” Dan laughed. “That’s just you and you’re annoyingness is part of the reason I like you. I just wish you could see things the way I do. And Kimi. And Hanna.”

“Not Hanna,” Sebastian said, quietly. “Not anymore.”

“Hanna still loves you,” Dan said. “She wouldn’t be so upset if she didn’t.”

“And I’ve hurt her and I’m such a horrible person,” Sebastian whispered, speaking to himself more than to Dan.

“Seb.”

“It’s no wonder she took Emily away,” he continued. “Why would she want Emily growing up around a person like me?”

“Seb.”

“I should just leave them to get on with their lives,” Sebastian said, shaking. “They were perfectly fine when I went away. They’d be fine again.”

“Seb, shut up,” Dan said. “You are not a horrible person. Yeah, you hurt her, but not because you’re evil or because you wanted to. You fell in love. Is that really that bad a thing? She’s not taken Emily _away_ from you. This whole leaving thing is just a ploy to get you to chase after her. She just wants to know that you still care and obviously that’s working. And they were not perfectly fine when you went away and you know it. You know Hanna couldn’t cope. And you know she won’t cope again if you just disappear off of the face of the earth. Why else would she have come with you?”

“Because she felt she had to.”

“Because. She. Loves. You.”

Sebastian shook his head. He wanted to believe what Dan was saying. He wanted to just nod and see Dan’s grin again and pretend that everything was going to be fine. But it wasn’t true. None of it was true. And he wasn’t going to let himself hope again.

“I don’t know what to say,” Dan said.

“Then don’t say anything,” Sebastian said. “Or won’t Kimi pay you if you do that.”

Dan groaned again, his grip on the steering wheel tightening a little. And it came back to this. Again. “I am not doing this because Kimi is paying me. I’m doing this because I’m your friend. You being upset makes me upset and I want us both to be happy.”

“Well, sometimes that just can’t happen, Dan,” Sebastian said.

“Of course it can,” Dan said. “You’ve just got to let it happen.”

Stupid thing to say. Another stupid thing to say, and he knew it. Why did he keep doing this? Even now, even knowing what Sebastian was like all this time.

“You think I don’t _want_ to be happy,” Sebastian said, tears beginning to weal in his eyes now, they’d been going for so long.

“I didn’t mean that, Seb, I’m sorry.”

“You think I make myself like this, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t,” Dan said. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

“But you thought it,” Sebastian said.

“I don’t think this is your fault,” Dan said, turning to Sebastian. “I know this isn’t you fault.”

“It is.”

“Sebastian, look at me.”

“Dan, look at the road.”

“Seb.”

“Road!”

Dan turned back to the road just in time to see an erratic driver heading in the opposite direction swerve into their lane. Into the car. It wasn’t enough time to do anything about it, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, sorry again the writing's bad. And sorry for the story line being all screwy. Thanks for reading though. I honestly have no idea why you still do, but it means a lot to me. So thank you. :)


	20. In which everyone finds out the truth

The knocking on the door had become almost constant in the few minutes it had taken Nico to properly wake up and come down stairs. When he eventually opened the door, Jenson almost fell through, stumbling into the house and then standing to stare at Nico. Nico frowned, closing the door.

“What’s the matter?”

“You’ve only just woken up?” Jenson said, a little confused.

“Yeah,” Nico said, sheepishly. He was aware of the fact it was the middle of the morning, but it had been the best night’s sleep he’d had in months, maybe even years. He smiled weakly and pulled Jenson towards him to kiss him. Jenson tensed a little and Nico stopped. “What’s wrong?”

“You haven’t heard the news yet, have you?” Jenson asked.

“No,” Nico said, trying to stay calm. “What’s happened?”

“They know,” Jenson said. “They know it was Lewis.”

 

Kimi was fully intending to leave whoever it was knocking at his door waiting. Hopefully they would go away. But, after more than half an hour of knocking and calling, Kimi gave in. He would go and tell them to piss off. That he’d been working on Hamilton when the attack occurred. That he didn’t need their constructive criticism right now.

When Kimi opened the door, the kid that was knocking on it was so surprised he stumbled back a little and looked up at Kimi gormlessly.

“If this is about Lewis-.”

The kid shook his head. Kimi recognised him from somewhere, but he couldn’t think where.”

“It’s… there’s been an accident.”

The Russian accent hit him immediately. It was Dan’s lodger.

“I’ve got enough on my plate right now-.”

“No, _Dan’s_ been in an accident,” the Russian said. “He was in the car with Seb. He left a note to say if anything happened to them to get you, and the hospital just rang, so…”

“Where are they?” Kimi asked. Why were they even in the car? They should have been safe with Niki yesterday. How had _this_ happened?

“They’ve been taken to this hospital near Manchester.”

“ _Manchester_ ,” Kimi repeated. That was hours away. “Are they ok?”

“I don’t know. They wouldn’t tell me. I’m not family.”

“Come on,” Kimi said, grabbing his keys from the inside and hurrying outside.

“Where are we going?”

“The train station,” Kimi said, pulling the Russian along with them. “We’re going to see if they’re alright.”

 

Ignoring the questions called to him from people he didn’t even know, Nico rushed through the hospital, Jenson close behind. He hadn’t told Jenson where he was going, but that had become obvious when they had pulled into the hospital car park, he had thought. But then, when they reached the room that Lewis was staying in, Nico just kept walking. Jenson stopped, confused, and looked around. Yes, this was definitely Lewis’ ward. Where was he-

“Shit, Nico!” Jenson called, attracting glares from the doctors that were about. “Nico! Wait, you can’t just…”

“Can’t just what?” Nico asked, not turning to Jenson. He should have done this weeks ago.

“What are you going to say?” Jenson asked.

“I’m going to tell them the truth,” Nico said, even though he hated the sound of that and it was going to cause problems, he knew, he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“Have you gone mad?” Jenson hissed, pulling Nico a stop before he could reach the next set of private rooms.

Nico tried to pull his hand away from Jenson’s but his grip was too tight. Glaring at him would have to do.

“What do you think I should do, Jenson?” he snapped. “Working in that coffee shop must give you all the experience you need to be able to cope with this kind of thing.”

“It gives me experience with working with people,” Jenson said, trying to not get angry because he knew this wasn’t Nico. This was the stress. “And I think that’s something you could use right now, because barging in there and telling them you’ve known it was Lewis all along is just going to get you hated.”

“I don’t care,” Nico said. “Maybe Rob hasn’t heard the news yet. If there’s any chance he can hear this from me, I’m going to take it.”

Nico was almost certain Rob didn’t know. He would have had at least a dozen phone calls if Rob had found out.

“You can’t do this, Nico.”

“I can do what I want,” Nico said, finally managing to pull away from Jenson and march down the corridor of private rooms.

 

Hanna hadn’t been in when Rob called around. She must have found Sebastian. She must have gone to bring him home. There was no other explanation. She didn’t answer the phone when Rob tried to call her, so it couldn’t have been that important she get in touch with him, he told himself.

He was still trying to convince himself of that when he swung into Felipe’s room, but the thought was knocked from his mind when he noticed the Brazilian struggling to stand up.

“Hey,” Rob called, making Felipe jump and almost fall off of the bed. He dashed forward to help him back onto bed, ignoring the annoyed sigh that came with it. “You heard what the doctors said, didn’t you. You shouldn’t be walking. You’ll make it worse.”

“Was bored,” Felipe mumbled. “Am sick of being stuck in this stupid bed. Is just making me more ill.”

Rob laughed. “Well, the longer you’re in here now, the sooner you’ll be back home,” he said.

Felipe sighed and nodded. Home sounded good, even if he couldn’t quite remember it.

“How is Felipinho?”

“Alright,” Rob said. “I think he’s in a bit of a mood with me because I wouldn’t let him run down the street like he usually does, but he’ll have forgotten about that by the time he comes out of school. We didn’t see the woman he was talking about.”

Felipe just nodded. He was safe. That was all that really mattered.

“Spoke to Räikkönen earlier,” Rob said, quietly. “Do you remember me telling you about him?”

“The name sounds familiar,” Felipe said, trying desperately to remember.

“He works with Rosberg,” Rob reminded him. “Räikkönen thinks this is part of some bigger mess. I don’t know. But he seems to have taken an interest for the first time since it happened, so that can’t be a bad thing.”

“Bigger mess?”

“Rosberg’s partner was attacked,” Rob said. “Räikkönen said that this might have had something to do with that.”

“Was _attacked_ ,” Felipe said. “What kind of horrible place did I chose to raise a kid?”

Rob nodded. He’d thought the same thing many times himself, and they _had_ been looking at places to move to. But the Halfway Houses were where the people who needed them were, and Rob couldn’t really imagine being away from that.

“It was supposed to be ok,” Rob said. “Because of Räikkönen and Rosberg. But it looks like they can’t handle this. Elevency isn’t safe anymore.”

Nico cleared his throat from the doorway and Rob jumped up, making Felipe grin.

“I… I just wanted to come and let you know,” Nico said, trying to find the right words. Not that he thought there was a good way of saying ‘my boyfriend nearly killed you’. “We- I know who did this.”

Rob stared at him, mouth open. Felipe looked between Nico and Rob, trying to understand why Nico looked so… _sorry_.

“He, the person who did this, didn’t mean to,” Nico said, before adding quickly. “But he is being punished. You’ve no idea what he’s been though these past couple of weeks.”

“What _he’s_ been through,” Rob cried, before he could stop himself. “I don’t give a shit what _he’s_ been though. I have spent two weeks looking after a five year old, not knowing if, when I pick him up from school in the evening, I’m going to have to tell him his dad is dead.”

“Yes, I understand that-.”

“No you don’t,” Rob cried. “You don’t understand that at all. The person I care about more than anyone in the world has no idea who I am. So don’t you tell me you understand any of this. Don’t try to tell me the person who did this has been through enough. Because, whatever it is, it isn’t half as bad as everything I have thought about doing to him since that night.”

Rob fell into silence, tears threatening to run down his face. He stumbled back into the chair and, almost automatically, his hand found Felipe’s. He wasn’t looking at the Brazilian. If he had, he would have seen the look of complete shock on his face.

“Rob, I’m sorry,” Nico tried.

“Who is it?” Rob croaked, his voice and his anger gone now.

“What?”

“Who did this?” Rob asked again, trying desperately not to cry. He was supposed to be the strong one. That was how this worked.

Nico gulped. He was going to find out. It was all over the news and Rob was going to find out at some point, but Nico suddenly didn’t want to be there when he did.

Jenson was right.

“Lewis,” he said quietly.


	21. Kimi knows Hanna knows, Nico realises he’s made a mistake and so does Felipe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow updates, and the lack of editing, and everything else, but here's another chapter I hope you like! :)

“Where’s Seb?” Kimi asked as soon as Niki picked up the phone.

Niki sighed. “Stay calm.”

“Where is he?”

“Back at the house,” Niki said.

“Put him on,” Kimi said.

“Kimi…”

“ _Please_ ,” Kimi tried with a groan, turning his back to Daniil. “Niki, this is important.”

“I can’t put him on,” Niki said. “Am not at home.”

“What? Where are you?”

Niki didn’t answer.

“Am going to tell you something you are going to be annoyed about,” he said, instead. “But you have to stay calm, ok?”

Kimi froze. “What?”

“Stay calm, Kimster,” Niki said, and Kimi almost softened at the use of his pet name. Almost. He wouldn’t be told to stay calm if this wasn’t going to make him angry. “Hanna knows about yourself and Sebastian and has insisted I drive her and Emily back to Elevency.”

“What?”

“Kimi, stay calm,” Niki warned. “Do not know how she found out, but she had a big row with Sebastian and I’m about an hour away from Elevency.”

“You let her leave.”

“Did not have much of a choice,” Niki said. “Am not going to keep a young lady in my house against her will.”

That was why they were in a car. Sebastian had been going after Hanna. No, after Emily.

“Have you heard about Dan and Sebastian?” Kimi asked, quietly.

“Heard what?”

“They’ve been in an accident,” Kimi said. “Somewhere near Manchester.”

“Are they alright?”

“I don’t know,” Kimi said. He’d tried phoning both of them, but neither of them had answered their phones, and the hospital had only told him as much as they told Daniil.

“Do you want me to tell Hanna?”

“No,” Kimi said, definitely. “Let me find out what’s going on and then I’ll speak to her myself.”

There was going to be a lot of explaining to do, and he needed to speak to Sebastian before he spoke to Hanna.

After so long living the quiet life, the explosion of activity was a little too much. But he’d promised Sebastian he’s sort this, and he was going to.

“Ok,” Niki said. “But… don’t do anything stupid, ok?”

“I won’t,” Kimi said, but he didn’t think he was going to be able to make that a promise.

 

“Lewis?”

Rob fell back into the chair, staring at Nico. Nico nodded, not able to look at Rob or Felipe.

“Lewis, _your_ Lewis?” he asked, even though he knew what the answer would be.

Another nod from the German.

Rob was marching out of the room before he could even think, both Felipe and Nico calling after him. Jenson was waiting outside, doing his best to stay calm for Nico’s sake. He stopped Rob before he could leave the corridor.

“Don’t be stupid,” he said. “Remember nobody meant for this to happen.”

“Yeah, right,” Rob snapped, pulling his hand away from Jenson. “You know as well as I do that he’s been trying to get the Halfway Houses closed for years. He probably wasn’t even drunk. He probably did this on purpose.”

“Come on, mate, you don’t really think that.”

“Don’t call me mate,” Rob said, knocking Jenson’s hand away when he tried to pat him on the back. “And yes, I do think that. Because he is twisted and sick enough to do something like that. No wonder someone tried to kill him. And I can’t believe you’re really trying to defend him.”

“I’m not,” Jenson said, managing to grab Rob’s wrist as he tried to make his escape again and this time he didn’t let go. “But you’re not thinking straight. What are you going to do? Go in there and smother him? Nobody can do anything until he wakes up, anyway.”

“You’re not going to do anything anyway, are you?” Rob said, turning to Nico.

Nico was shaking, trying not to be sick. Jenson was right. Of course Jenson was right. He shouldn’t have come here.

“We’ll get this sorted, Rob,” Jenson promised.

Nico didn’t say anything. He couldn’t.

“You won’t though, will you,” Rob said, waiting for an answer from Nico. “How long did you know?”

“Rob,” Jenson tried, but he wasn’t listening.

“How long did you know it was him?” Rob asked, pulling his wrist away from Jenson and taking a step towards Nico. Jenson gently pulled him away.

“I know you’re annoyed, mate but listen.”

“Stop calling me mate and stop telling me how I feel,” Rob snapped.

He pushed past Jenson and hurried down the hall too quickly this time for Jenson to stop him. Jenson followed after him, leaving Nico standing outside Felipe’s room, struggling to remember why he had thought doing this alone would be a good idea.

“Rob, stop and think about this,” Jenson called as Rob turned onto the ward Lewis was on. “What are you going to do? Really?”

“I don’t know,” Rob snapped, not stopping or turning around or thinking at all.

“Rob, stop,” Jenson called again, but he knew it would be no use.

Surprisingly, Rob stopped. He was stood just outside Lewis’ private room, frozen. Jenson soon caught up and immediately realised why Rob had stopped.

Police tape criss-crossed the door, people in white forensic gear crawling over the small room. Niether of them had noticed the members of staff peering at the room from a safe distance, or the unusually high police presence. What they did notice was the blood the forensic team was sampling, sprayed up far wall.

And the fact Lewis was gone.

 

“I’m confused,” Felipe said when the nurse, Laura, came into the room. Rob had gone about half an hour ago and he’d been alone with his thoughts since.

“Yeah?” Laura asked. “What are you confused about?”

“I…” He paused, trying to figure out if he should really say this out loud. Laura smiled as she went through her checks, reading off data from the computer and writing it on her clip board. Felipe sighed. “I don’t know.”

“I’m not surprised,” Laura said, still smiling.

“No, is different,” Felipe said. “A different confused.”

“Ok,” Laura said.

“I think… think I might like someone.”

“Really?” Laura said, trying to sound surprised, but she didn’t think she could pull it off. She knew Rob thought she had no idea what was between him and Felipe, but it had been obvious since the Brazilian had first come in.

“But, they don’t like me,” Felipe said, watching Laura in her work.

“What makes you think that?” Laura asked.

“Because they already have someone,” Felipe said, quietly.

Laura almost stopped what she was doing. Felipe didn’t seem to notice.

“But I can’t help it,” he continued. “Don’t even remember him, but how he is now and I like it. Like it a lot.”

“You’re… you are talking about Rob, aren’t you?” Laura said.

“Yeah,” Felipe said. “But don’t tell him, please. Will just make things awkward and I don’t know anybody as it is and cannot lose him as well.”

“Rob has someone?” Laura asked, confused.

“Yeah,” Felipe said. “Has told me. Lives with his partner.”

Laura sighed. “That’s you, you idiot.”

Felipe’s mouth fell open and Laura struggled to stop herself from laughing.

“Me?”

She nodded, the grin on her face already beginning to hurt her cheeks.

“Am going out with Rob?” Felipe said, slowly.

Laura nodded again.

A small smile began to show on Felipe’s face. Within seconds it was practically cutting his face in two.

“Do you want me to go and get him?” Laura asked. She was sure she had seen him on the other ward as she passed to see if there were any developments.

Felipe nodded and Laura, still smiling, left.

“Am going out with Rob,” Felipe said to himself, quietly, trying to stop himself grinning.


	22. In which Nico panics, Kimi doesn't, and things are happy and then they're not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This hasn't been edited and it might be really rough. Sorry.

Kimi wasn’t picking up the phone, no matter how many times Nico tried to call. Toto was already on his way, but there was very little he would be able to do and Nico needed Kimi here because he was the better one at this kind of thing and his dad should have just put Kimi in charge and then none of this would have happened.

“Why won’t he answer?” Nico hissed at his phone, shrugging away Jenson when he tried to calm him down.

“He’s probably busy,” Jenson tried.

“Doing what?” Nico snapped, tears beginning to swell in his eyes again. The police couldn’t tell him anything. Just that Lewis was missing, probably dead. The blood on the walls was his. There was a lot of blood.

“Trying to sort this out, probably,” Jenson said. “Nico, getting worked up isn’t going to help anyone.”

“What do you expect me to do?” Nico said.

“There’s nothing you can do here,” Jenson said. “Come home.”

“The last time I went home someone tried to kill him,” Nico said. Now they had achieved that. Lewis was dead.

“This isn’t your fault, Nico,” Jenson tried, uselessly. “Come on. We’ll go and get something to eat and then we’ll phone Kimi again, ok? We’ll get this sorted out. I promise.”

But it was no use. Nico was gone, his mind elsewhere, and Jenson knew it was going to take more than promises to bring him back. Not caring who was looking, Jenson slid his hand into Nico’s and pulled him away from the mess.

 

“Kimi?”

It was all Sebastian managed before Kimi flew at him, wrapping the younger man in his arms and holding him so tightly he could probably crush bone.

“Why weren’t you answering your phone,” Kimi said, trying to sound angry, but all he could manage was relief.

“It’s not supposed to be on in the hospital,” Sebastian said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m so sorry. Dan’s hurt and it’s all my fault.”

“No it isn’t,” Kimi said, rubbing soothing circles into Sebastian’s back and holding him even tighter, as if he could squeeze the negative thoughts out of him.

“Yeah it is,” Sebastian said, tears swimming in his eyes. “I made him drive me back and if it wasn’t for me we wouldn’t have been arguing again and I was just being stupid and distracting him and we wouldn’t have crashed if it wasn’t for me.”

“This is not your fault,” Kimi said again, pressing a kiss into Sebastian’s hair. He wished Hanna was here. She was better at this than he was.

“Yeah it is,” Sebastian said again.

“Where’s Dan?” Kimi asked.

“I don’t know,” Sebastian said. “They took him away. He wasn’t awake when they got him out of the car and there was so much blood and nobody will tell me anything. They just keep saying they’re doing everything they can and I don’t know what that means.”

“He wasn’t awake?” Daniil repeated. He didn’t care about Kimi and Sebastian. They could do what they wanted. But Dan was one of the few friends he had in Elevency. He had to be ok.

Sebastian shook his head, finally managing to pull himself away from Kimi and stand by himself.

“I’m so sorry,” he said. Why did he keep doing this? Why did he keep screwing up people’s lives?

“Where did they take him?” Daniil asked.

Sebastian shrugged. “An operating theatre. I don’t know where. He’s been in there hours. He’s going to die, isn’t he?”

“No,” Kimi began, but Sebastian wasn’t even listening.

“He’s going to die and it’ll be all my fault.”

Daniil left Sebastian with Kimi now it was pretty obvious he wasn’t going to get any more information out of him and went to find a nurse or doctor to tell him more. Kimi wrapped his arms around Sebastian again, shushing him as he sobbed.

“He’s not going to die,” Kimi whispered. “And none of this is your fault.”

“We wouldn’t even have been in the stupid car if it wasn’t for me,” Sebastian hissed angrily to himself.

“That doesn’t make it your fault,” Kimi said, leading Sebastian over to the seats so that he could sit down. “What were you in the car for, anyway?”

“We were going after Hanna and Emily,” Sebastian said. “She knows about us, Kimi. I was talking to your dad and she must have heard me or something and then she left in the night. I’m such an idiot. I’m so sorry. Why do I keep letting things like this happen?”

“Seb, this is not your fault,” Kimi said. “Yeah, maybe _that_ is, but it’s nothing we can’t fix. I’m going to fix this, ok?”

“But you’ve already got so much…”

“I have never got too much that I can’t look after you,” Kimi said, wrapping his arm around Sebastian and pulling him closer so he could kiss his forehead. “Now you wait here. I’m going to go and see where Daniil’s gone and see what I can find out about Dan.”

 

When Rob finally came back to Felipe’s room, the Brazilian was trying to get himself out of bed, again. Rob rushed over but Felipe held out a hand for him to stop.

“Wait there, ok?”

“Felipe, this is dangerous,” Rob said. “You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“Am fine,” Felipe said, almost stood.

Rob rushed forward to catch him as he fell. Felipe wrapped his arms around Rob’s neck, pulling himself up, and placed a kiss on Rob’s lips, praying what the nurse had told him had been true.

For a couple of seconds, Rob stared at him, then a grin consumed his face.

“You remembered?” he asked.

Felipe shook his head. Their faces were still inches apart, Felipe clinging onto Rob so he didn’t fall over. Rob tried to get him to sit back on the bed, but he wouldn’t move.

“Fell for you again,” he said.

Rob laughed and managed to ease Felipe onto the bed, sitting on the edge.

“So you just knew I _had_ to like you back,” he said, laughing.

“Well, I am me, no?” Felipe said. “No, the nurse told me. She said we were together.”

Rob turned, expecting to see Laura in the room, but she had never followed him in. He would have to ask her how she knew. Nobody was supposed to know.

“Look,” Rob said, the seriousness back in his voice. “I like you. A lot. And yeah, we’ve been going out for a while. But nobody can find out, ok?”

Felipe frowned, his now usual state of confusion back. “Why not?”

“Because,” Rob sighed. “How we met, it wasn’t really a _proper_ way of finding someone to go out with.”

“Are worrying me now…”

“Oh, it was nothing bad,” Rob said, quickly. “Not really. Just… You were, sort of, a client. And… in my line of work, I shouldn’t really be going out with clients. People would think I was using you, taking advantage of your circumstances, and I’m not. I never have been. But if people got the wrong idea then I’d have to stop doing what I do and I really don’t want that.”

“And what is it that you do again?” Felipe asked, trying to see why this would be such a bad thing.

“I own a bunch of houses,” Rob explained. “Which are given to homeless families whilst they get back on their feet.”

“And I’m homeless?”

“You were,” Rob corrected him. “A very, very long time ago. But you have a home now. It’s with me.”

“But then… why…”

“We agreed this was for the best,” Rob said. “This way the Halfway Houses are still open for people and we can be together without anyone else poking their noses in. It’s for the best.”

Felipe sighed, still frowning a little. Rob leaned forward to kiss the frown away but, before he could, someone cleared there throat.

He spun around, expecting to find Laura stood there, grinning.

A woman he didn’t recognise stood in the doorway, holding Felipinho against her hip.

Rob stood. “Who are you and what are you doing with him?”

“I’m his mother,” the woman said, her eyes on Felipe. “And _his_ wife.”


	23. In which I did it again and I'm sorry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry chapters haven't been so good recently and that updates haven't been so often. I know the chapters can be a lot better but there isn't a lot of time for editing and I don't know how much better they would be if they were. Sorry the story line is all over the place as well. I've no control over it and it just kind of happens. If you're still reading this, I've no idea why, but you are so thank you. I hope this isn't a waste of time for you.

Niki had already told her Kimi wouldn’t be in, but that didn’t stop Hanna marching up to his front door and slamming her hand against it repeatedly. Emily was in the car, crying. She’d been crying for most of the journey and it had brought Hanna to tears too. She just needed answers. She needed somebody to tell her what was going on.

“Come on,” Niki said, pulling her away from the door. “Is no good doing this and you’re just making yourself look like an idiot.”

“I need to speak to him.”

“Well, he is not in, so if you need to speak to him I suggest you go somewhere else,” Niki said. He hadn’t told her where Kimi was, as he had been asked, but if Kimi didn’t phone soon he felt he might have to. “Where would you like to go?”

“Not home,” Hanna said. “I can’t go home.”

“Then we won’t go home,” Niki said. “Where would you like to go?”

Hanna struggled to come up with anywhere. None of her friends really understood Sebastian. When she told then what had happened when Emily was born they’d told her to leave him. They didn’t understand that he had been ill. They’d probably laugh at her now. Tell her that she’d been stupid to be with him and maybe she had been but she didn’t need to be told that.

“To the hospital,” she said, eventually.

“What?”

“The hospital,” Hanna repeated, rushing back to the car. She shouldn’t go to see Rob. She _knew_ she shouldn’t go to see Rob whilst he had everything else to deal with, but he was the only one that would be sympathetic but not patronizing and that was what she needed right now.

 

“Mr Kvyat? Mr Vettel?”

Both of them jumped up as soon as the nurse called them over. He led them out of the waiting room and into a private room. As soon as the door closed, all the noise from outside was silenced. It made Sebastian shudder.

The nurse gestured to the two chairs in the small room and Sebastian immediately sat down, fearing he’d fall if he didn’t. Daniil stayed stood, leaning on the back of the chair and waiting for the nurse to continue.

“Your friend has come out of surgery and we’re in the process of waking him up,” the nurse said. “Mr Ricciardo’s injuries were substantial, but surgery was a success.”

“He’s going to be alright then?” Sebastian interrupted.

“As far as we can tell at this point,” the nurse said. “Yes, but it may take a while for him to get back to his usual self.”

“How do you mean?” Sebastian asked before Daniil could.

“He might find it difficult walking for a while,” the nurse said. “The break in his leg wasn’t entirely clean. But it should be nothing long lasting. Some physiotherapy and he should be back to normal in no time.”

He tried a smile to comfort them, but it was no use.

“Would he be able to come home?” Daniil asked.

“We’d like to keep him in over-night,” the nurse said. “To check the concussion he had when he came in was nothing serious. But, if nothing comes up in that time, he’ll be free to go. There’ll be someone there to help him whilst he’s at home, though?”

“Yeah,” Daniil said, raising a hand. He could do that.

“Right then,” the nurse said. “I’ll let you two get back to whatever you were doing. I’m told to promote the cafeteria food but there’s a chip shop a little down the road that is so much better. I’ll come and get you when Mr Ricciardo wakes up, if you’d like?”

“Yes, please,” Sebastian said, quickly, following the nurse out.

Kimi was waiting for them outside. He was glad to see than Sebastian had finally stopped crying.

“He’s going to be ok,” Sebastian said, falling into Kimi and letting the Finn envelope him in a hug. “He’s going to be ok.”

 

Nico hadn’t let his phone leave his sight the entire time they’d been home. Jenson had tried sneaking it away from him, but it was no use. He hadn’t phoned Kimi again, yet, but neither had the Finn returned his calls. He didn’t know how he was supposed to do this by himself. He’d never even wanted to. The moment he’d thought he could go against Kimi was the stupidest moment of his life and he wished he could go and change that now, but he couldn’t.

“It’ll be ok,” Jenson promised him, bringing over a cup of coffee as it was obvious he wasn’t going to be able to get Nico to go to bed. “We’ll get this sorted, I promise.”

“Stop saying that like you’ve got any idea what to do next,” Nico said, taking the mug from him. “Stop saying that like you’ve got some kind of plan. Some way of making sure this is going to be ok. If you’ve got that, be my guest. If not, shut up.”

Jenson fell silent and sat beside Nico. There was nothing he could say that wouldn’t annoy him right now, so he made do with putting an arm around the other man and pulling him towards him. Thankfully, Nico didn’t pull away, resting his head against Jenson’s shoulder and waiting for the whole mess to disappear.

“You phoned Toto, didn’t you?” Jenson murmured once they’d been sat in silence for a while.

Nico nodded as best he could without pulling his head away. “Will be here soon, I guess. I don’t know.”

“He’ll get things sorted again,” Jenson promised. “He’ll know what to do.”

 

“Daddy!” Felipinho cried, squirming out of the woman’s grip and racing over to the bed again. He bounced up onto the side, quickly becoming enveloped in his father’s arms. “Do you remember Rob now?”

“Not, quite, Pea, no,” Felipe said, quietly, not daring to look at the woman making her way across the room. Rob was still standing, shaking and glaring at her.

“How did you get him?” he asked. The school had promised to watch him like they had done the day before. He’d made sure of it.

“I’m his mother,” the woman repeated.

“You gave him up when you ran off,” Rob snapped.

The woman laughed in shock. “ _I_ ran off. Is that what he told you? Care to tell the truth, _darling_? What really happened?”

“I don’t remember,” Felipe mumbled, pulling Felipinho closer to him even though the child had begun to squirm again.

“Of course,” the woman – Rob hated mentally referring to her as that and wished she’d give her name because he sure as hell wasn’t calling her Felipinho’s mother – said. “You hit your head. Poor you. Shall I remind you? Remind you how _you_ were the one who ran off. _You_ took our son and left the country. If anyone’s the kidnapper here, it’s _you_. For years, I’ve been trying to find you for five years. Have you any idea what that’s like? Of course not. You probably don’t even remember he’s your son.”

“Daddy?” Felipinho asked quietly.

“It’s ok,” Felipe whispered, pressing a kiss into his hair.

The woman turned back to Rob. “Would you take him for a walk or something, please? So I can talk to Felipe?”

“Whatever you have to say, you can say it to me,” Rob said, his hand fumbling behind him until he found Felipe’s hand.

“Rob?” Felipe said, his throat dry.

Rob spun around and found Felipe unwrapping his arms from around Felipinho. “She’s already done enough damage to him. Please?”

Rob gulped and nodded, still shaking as he took Felipinho’s hand and pulled him off of the bed. He leaned in to press a kiss against Felipe’s cheek.

“I’m here for you, alright,” he mumbled into his ear. “Ten minutes and then I’m back, ok?”

Felipe nodded, tears already swimming in his eyes.

Rob led Felipinho out of the room, ignoring the smug grin the woman flashed at him. The woman who was _not_ Felipinho’s mother, was _not_ Felipe’s wife, and was _not_ going to ruin his family.


	24. In which Sebastian feels guilty and Dan is.

“You can see him now,” the nurse said when he returned. “But, only two at a time.”

“It’s ok,” Kimi said. “I’ll wait here.” Dan wouldn’t really be concerned about seeing him, anyway.

“Are you sure?” Sebastian asked, his hand sliding out of Kimi’s as he stood.

Kimi nodded. “Go and see him.”

Sebastian nodded and smiled weakly at Kimi before turning to follow Daniil and the nurse to see Dan.

The nurse led them to a public ward and Daniil followed him in easily enough. Sebastian waited outside for a moment, trying to find the courage to go in.

No matter what anyone said, this was _his_ fault. He’d made Dan get in the car, made them argue, distracted him…

“Mr Vettel?”

The nurse was holding the door for him, smiling in a way that Sebastian guessed was supposed to be comforting. Through the door, he caught sight of Dan, watching him.

“I can’t go this,” he whispered.

Before the nurse could as anything, Sebastian raced down the corridor, through the almost deserted waiting room and outside.

 

“What’s wrong with Seb?” Dan asked, watching his best friend leave.

Daniil shrugged. “Thinks this is his fault.”

“Why would he think that?” Dan asked, still peering out the door in the hope that Sebastian would come back if he thought about it hard enough.

“Don’t know. Is Seb, though. Isn’t that what he always thinks?”

“I need to speak to him,” Dan said, trying to get up.

Daniil rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Are not going after him. I’ll go and get him in a while, if you want. Let him calm down.”

“He won’t calm down alone,” Dan said, knowing Sebastian for far too long to believe that.

“Is not alone. Kimi is here.”

“ _Kimi_ ’s here?” Dan asked.

Daniil nodded. “You told me to get him if anything happened. Thought you dying counted as something like that. Paid for train fair up here.”

Daniil couldn’t help a smile at that. It made Dan grin too and, almost instantly, he looked a lot more like his usual self.

“I’m fine,” Dan said. “I just ache. Maniacs on the road.”

“You don’t think this has something to do with everything,” Daniil asked. Even if he tried to keep out of everyone’s way and pretend he had no idea what was going on, it was hard to ignore that the mess between Kimi and Nico was raising its head again.

Dan shook his head. “Just another careless driver and me not paying enough attention to the road.”

Daniil nodded, but he wasn’t sure if he believed him. Dan was still grinning, but it wasn’t quite right and it was more unnerving than when he wasn’t grinning at all. Daniil thought about going to get Kimi to see if the Finn would be able to get answers from him when Dan spoke again.

“Seb’s ok, though,” he asked. “Other than, you know, being Seb?”

“Think so.” Daniil said. “He wasn’t seeing a doctor when we came in.”

“Ok,” Dan said, falling back onto the pillows that were keeping him propped up. He couldn’t hide the relief from Daniil.

“You know about Sebastian and Kimi, don’t you?” he said.

“What?”

“I’ve seen them. Together. I know. You know too? Is why Kimi wanted you to look after him.”

Dan sighed and looked around, but he was almost certain none of the other patients on the ward even had any idea who Kimi was and if Daniil already knew…

“Yes, but if anyone finds out, I’m dead,” Dan said. “And the same will probably go for you.”

“Was not going to tell anyone,” Daniil said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “Have better things to do than gossip anyway. Just trying to understand everything.”

“Yeah, well…” Dan sighed. “They’re together.”

“And when you and him...”

“ _Don’t_ ,” Dan warned before Daniil could finish. “That was once and he doesn’t even remember.”

“I know,” Daniil said. “You’ve said.” He’d said many times, but Daniil couldn’t help but think about it. “Guess Kimi does not know about that.”

“No and if he finds out about that…”

“You’re dead?” Daniil finished.

“I don’t know what I am, but I can’t imagine it’ll be very good.”

 

“What’s the matter?” Kimi asked, catching up with Sebastian once he was outside. “I thought they said Dan was ok?”

“He is,” Sebastian said, shivering in the cold and wiping his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at Kimi. “He’s fine. But he hates me.”

“I am pretty sure Daniel isn’t actually capable of hating anyone,” Kimi said, pulling Sebastian towards him and trying to warm him up. “Least of all you.”

“I put him in there.”

“He’s fine.”

“He might not have been,” Sebastian said, quickly, as if he’d already prepared this argument.

“Seb, listen to me,” Kimi said. “He is not going to be hating you. He’s probably worried about you. Come back inside. You’re cold.”

“I’m not.”

“And now you are being stubborn,” Kimi laughed, pulling Sebastian back inside. They didn’t go any further than the waiting room they’d spent what felt like forever in. Kimi wouldn’t make him go any further.

“When Daniil comes out, we’ll go in to see him together, alright,” Kimi said. “Or I can go in and check for you that he doesn’t hate you.”

“I just want to go home,” Sebastian said. “I’m such a selfish idiot.”

“You’re not,” Kimi said. “If you want to go home, then I’ll take you home, ok?”

“But Dan…”

“Dan will understand,” Kimi promised. “I’ll go and tell them we’re leaving though. Do you want to come too?”

Sebastian shook his head quickly. He couldn’t go in there. Not if there was any chance Dan was going to hate him. Dan had been one of the few constants, the one that was never annoyed at him, and now…

“Alright,” Kimi said, standing. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

Kimi made his way through the hospital, heading in the direction the nurse had taken Daniil and Sebastian earlier and trying to not get lost. It took him five minutes to find the ward, drawn by the familiar voices. It was only when he got closer that he heard what they were saying and he stopped.

“Yes, but if anyone finds out, I’m dead. And the same will probably go for you.”

Kimi smirked at the thought. He liked that he had Dan exactly where he needed him.

“Was not going to tell anyone. Have better things to do than gossip anyway. Just trying to understand everything.”

“Yeah, well… They’re together.”

Kimi groaned silently. Another person that knew. And he barely knew anything about the Russian kid. He was sure someone had said he came from a place that warned him about getting on his bad side. He had some hope that he wasn’t stupid enough to shout about this.

“And when you and him...”

“ _Don’t_. That was once and he doesn’t even remember.”

_What?_

“I know,” Daniil said. “You’ve said.” He’d said many times, but Daniil couldn’t help but think about it. “Guess Kimi does not know about that.”

“No and if he finds out about that…”

_Finds out what?_

“You’re dead?”

“I don’t know what I am, but I can’t imagine it’ll be very good.”

Kimi waited a few moments, trying to calm himself down. Nothing had happened. No, something had definitely happened. Whatever had happened, Sebastian didn’t even remember. He was probably drunk. He had no common sense when he was drunk.

It was nothing.

Kimi cleared his throat when he came into the room, and both of them look up quickly.

“Sebastian wants to go home,” Kimi announced, trying to pretend he hadn’t heard anything. “I’m going to take him back.”

“Back to Elevency?” Dan asked, trying to pretend that he hadn’t just been speaking about anything.

Kimi nodded. “Am glad to see you’re alright.”

He left quickly, glad that the personality he’d built meant he wasn’t expected to stay and chat.

Dan looked guilty. And Kimi couldn’t stop his mind coming up with more and more ideas as to why that was.


	25. In which Toto has a theory, Hanna finds Rob, or Rob finds Hanna, and Kimi tries to keep Sebastian calm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is a bit of a shorter chapter. Hopefully you like it... All feedback welcome. :)

It was after noon before Toto arrived. Jenson had been trying to get Nico to eat some lunch for half an hour, but the German had barely touched anything, let alone had a meal. Jenson couldn’t help thinking that this was affecting him way more than it should have been, but he always caught himself before he’d thought about it too much. Of course this was affecting him. The Nico he’d fallen in love with cared about his friends. He was sensitive. The Nico he’d fallen in love with would care if anyone he knew ended up in hospital.

And if someone was very obviously trying to hurt him.

When there was the knock at the door, Nico didn’t even look up. With a small sigh, Jenson answered it, smiling weakly at Toto. Without saying a word, he let him inside.

“You’re not going to be any good to anyone if you don’t look after yourself,” Toto said, watching Nico ignoring him.

“It’s no good,” Jenson said, quietly, sliding past Toto to sit beside Nico again.

The German didn’t react when Jenson tried to put his arm around him. He wouldn’t look at either of them, staring at the sandwich Jenson had put in front of him ten minutes before.

“I have people looking for Lewis,” Toto said, taking a step closer and cocking his head to try to get a good view of Nico’s face. “But they haven’t found anything. I think he’s still alive.”

Nico looked up at that, and Toto was unsurprised to see the tears swimming in his eyes. “Alive?”

Toto shrugged. “Why would they make that scene at the hospital but then take a dead body away? No, I think he’s alive.”

“He had a machine to breath for him,” Nico said, shaking. “How can he still be alive?”

“If he’s dead, then they won’t want him,” Toto said. “If he’s dead, we would have found him by now. I don’t know how they’re keeping him alive, but they are.”

“Then _why_?”

“I don’t know,” Toto said. “They’ll probably get into contact and then we’ll see where we can go from there.”

“What about Kimi?” Nico asked, quietly, his eyes back on the sandwich again.

“What about him?”

“Do you think he had anything to do with this?” Nico asked. “I know what he said… I know he said this wasn’t him but… I don’t know. I don’t know anyone else who would be doing something like this.”

“You think it is him?” Toto asked, uncertainly.

“I want to trust him,” Nico said. “But I don’t think I can.”

 

“Hanna, what are you doing here? Are you alright?”

Hanna was so shocked by what she had been left to wait beside that she didn’t even see Rob, Felipinho in hand, as she tried to rush out of the hospital. She couldn’t stand to be near it anymore, not after hearing what the police had been saying to each other.

“Rob,” Hanna said. “I was looking for you.”

“Are you alright?” Rob asked, again. “I tried phoning you earlier, but you weren’t answering. I was worried when I didn’t see you at the school. Is Seb alright?”

“Yeah, Seb’s… Seb’s…” The tears came again and Hanna fell into one of the sofas in the waiting area, Emily on her lap. “He’s… with Kimi.”

“Oh, that must be a relief,” Rob said, smiling. “What did I tell you?”

Hanna shook her head. “No, he’s _with_ him. Like he should be _with_ me. Like you’re _with_ Felipe.”

“We’re just friends,” Rob said, automatically, but Hanna just rolled her eyes.

“He’s _with_ him, and I don’t know what to do,” she said.

“Hanna, I’m sure you’re just over reacting.”

“He told me, Rob,” Hanna snapped, making Felipinho shuffle a little closer to Rob. “He admitted it to me.”

Rob bit his lip and nodded. Hanna needed him, and he’d promised her he’d be there for her, but he’d also promised Felipe he’d rescue him from the lying, child snatching psychopath in ten minutes and it had already been twelve. “Alright. Let me just take Pea to Felipe and I’ll come and sit with you, alright?”

“Felipe?” Hanna asked. “He’s awake?”

Rob nodded. “He woke up the day before yesterday.”

“Oh, Rob,” Hanna said. “Rob, I’m so happy for you.”

“Yeah,” Rob said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “It’s going to be a tough time.”

“He doesn’t remember things,” Felipinho said, quietly. “He doesn’t remember Rob.”

Hanna’s face fell. “Oh, Rob…”

“It’s fine,” Rob insisted. “We’ll make it through.”

“Do you mind if I come with you?” Hanna asked, uncertainly.

“Not at all,” Rob said. “The more the merrier.”

 

“What was that about?” Sebastian asked when Kimi returned to the quiet carriage their seats were in.

“Nothing you need to worry about,” Kimi insisted, falling back into the seat beside Sebastian.

“Was it Hanna?”

“It was about Nico and Lewis,” Kimi said.

“Is Lewis… alright?” Sebastian asked, quietly.

Kimi shook his head. “It’s gotten worse.”

“I shouldn’t be coming back, should I?” Sebastian said. “I’m just going to distract you.”

“I already know who did this to Lewis,” Kimi announced. “Is complicated, though, and I’m trying to find out why.”

“You know?” Sebastian asked. “Who?”

“I can’t tell you,” Kimi said.

“Why not?” Sebastian said.

“Because, if I am wrong, this is just going to cause a lot more trouble, which I don’t want to happen,” Kimi said. “It’ll be sorted soon enough, though, don’t worry about it.”

Kimi leaned over and tried to place a kiss on Sebastian’s cheek, but the German caught his lips with his own.

“Guess this means we are telling people now,” Kimi said, quietly, unable to stop the smile on his face.

“Only if you want to,” Sebastian said.

“Of course I do,” Kimi said, not a hint of the fear he was really feeling in his voice.


	26. In which Felipe struggles with the truth and Kimi tries to keep Sebastian calm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It would seem I missed out a chapter. Here's the real chapter six. Sorry for the confusion and hopfully this all makes a little more sense now.

By the time Rob returned to the room, the woman was gone. He wasn’t sure if he was thankful for this or not. Felipe was still sat in the bed and didn’t look up when they came in, still trying to convince himself he wasn’t a monster. He hadn’t taken Felipinho away without good reason. He couldn’t have.  
“Hey,” Rob said, uncertainly.  
Felipe looked up and pushed a smile onto his face, blinking back tears.  
Rob saw the tears and gulped. Whatever had happened, it had been bad.  
“Look who I found,” he said, though, not addressing the tears but nodding towards Hanna beside him. “This is Hanna. She’s come to see how you are. Must be a relief to have someone other than me showing up.”  
“Hello?” Hanna said, uncertainly.  
“Hi,” Felipe said, trying to keep his voice steady. His eyes flicked between Hanna and Rob and he wished Rob would ask her to leave. She could come back another time when someone he didn’t even know wasn’t trying to ruin his life. “Sorry, don’t remember much.”  
“Yeah, Rob said,” Hanna said, sitting in the chair with Emily on her lap. “I’m Hanna, and this is Emily. We were staying in the Halfway Houses for a little while a couple of years ago.”  
“Oh,” Felipe said. He couldn’t think of anything else to say and looked hopefully up at Rob again.  
“I was really worried about you,” Hanna said. “And Rob. I mean, you pair were there for me when I really needed you. And this… it was just awful.”  
“Was not much fun for me either,” Felipe said. “But is getting better now.”  
“Hanna?” Rob said, coming forward suddenly. “Would you mind taking Pea to go and get some ice cream or something?”  
“More ice cream!” Felipinho said, the remains of his last ice cream still on his face.  
“I need to talk to Felipe a minute,” Rob finished.  
“Sure,” Hanna said, her own problems completely forgotten. She stood and, shifting Emily so she was sitting on one arm, took Felipinho’s hand.  
“Thank you,” Felipe said, quietly as she left. Rob practically dived into the chair.  
“What’s happened? What did she say?”  
“I did it,” Felipe said, so quietly Rob could barely hear him, but if he spoke any louder he was going to cry. “I kidnapped my own child.”

“He needs to eat,” Toto said, quietly as Jenson showed him out. “If this is all going to kick off, he’s going to need his strength.”  
“I know,” Jenson said. “Short of force feeding him, there’s nothing else I can do.”  
Toto nodded, knowing exactly how stubborn Nico could be.  
“I’m going to try to get in touch with Kimi,” he said. “But he might come here before I can. If he does, you’ll phone me?”  
“Of course.”  
“I’m sorry you’re involved in all this,” Toto said, stepping out into the rain that had suddenly decided to engulf the town. “You’re a good friend.”  
“Thank you,” Jenson said. “Speak to you soon.”  
Nico was sat on the sofa in the living room where he’d been since they came back, still staring at the sandwich in front of him, listening to the conversation in the hallway.  
He took a deep, shaky breath, wanting to call something out into the hallway. Wanting to convince them he could do this. He wanted to eat the stupid little sandwich and prove he wasn’t the little kid they thought he was.  
But it was no good.  
The shaky breath turned into a sigh and he curled himself tighter, wishing he was something he was not.

“You are not a bad person,” Rob kept telling him. “And, if you took Felipinho away it’s because you needed to.”  
“Then why didn’t I tell you?” Felipe asked. “If I had just told you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.”  
Rob knew that. He’d thought the same thing himself.   
“You must have had a reason not to tell me,” Rob said.  
“Yeah, you would not have taken me in if you knew I was a child snatcher,” Felipe said, tears that had been waiting restlessly in his eyes beginning to make their way down his face.  
“You are not that person,” Rob said. “I know it.”  
“But you don’t know,” Felipe snapped, a little louder than he intended to. “You don’t know, Rob. You know as much as I do.”  
“I know you,” Rob said, trying to stay calm. “I fell in love with you, didn’t I?”  
Felipe shook his head, wiping his eyes with the heels of his hands. “Fell in love with whatever I told you.”  
Rob didn’t reply. At least not in words. He engulfed the smaller man in a hug, rocking a little to try and calm him down. He could feel Felipe shaking beneath him, small sobs escaping from him.  
“You are not a bad person,” Rob said again. “You are one of the few people I have met in my life I can say that about without even thinking. You would never do anything that would make Pea suffer, unless it was saving him from something else. Whatever happened before, whatever it is that you don’t remember, it’s worse than you taking him away. And I do know that. I do know you.”

“I need to find Hanna,” Sebastian said as they stepped onto the platform in Elevency. He shivered, the platform acting like a wind tunnel, and shuffled a little closer to Kimi. “I need to try to explain to her.”  
“She’s at the hospital,” Kimi said, leading Sebastian out of the train station.  
“The hospital?” Sebastian asked. “Is she ok? Is it Emily?”  
“She’s fine, and so is Emily,” Kimi said. “She asked Niki to take her there. She said she needed to speak to someone.”  
“Rob,” Sebastian said, without even thinking about it. He sometimes worried about how close they were, as much as that made him a bit of a hypocrite when he thought about it. But, if there was anyone she would want to go and talk to, it would be him.  
Kimi just nodded. He didn’t question why Sebastian knew that, but he guessed Rob comforting Hanna wasn’t an unusual thing.  
“Wait a second,” Kimi said, as Sebastian rushed towards the taxi rank. “Maybe you should leave him to calm her down a little bit?”  
“She’s had the entire journey here to calm down,” Sebastian said.   
“Maybe you should leave her a little so you can calm down a bit,” Kimi said. “She isn’t going to be going anywhere, is she? And you rushing in there is only going to make things worse.”  
“I need to see my daughter,” Sebastian said.  
“I know,” Kimi said, grabbing Sebastian’s hand as he tried to go to the taxis again. “But this way, you’re probably going to see her for longer. Trust me, Seb, that’s all I’m asking.”  
Sebastian stopped and looked up at him. Trust him.   
“Fine,” he said, eventually. “But soon. Today. We’re going to see her before the end of today and explain.”  
“We?” Kimi asked.  
“I can’t do it without you.”


	27. In which there is more ice cream and Jenson tries to help but can't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is chapter twenty seven, which you might already have read because it was chapter twenty six but I accidentally missed out a chapter. But now that chapter's there and hopefully this one will make a little more sense. Sorry for being an idiot. :/

Felipinho was giggling as he ran ahead of Hanna to get out of the rain. He could have gone faster, but he was looking after his ice cream as well and making sure it didn’t fall off. Once he was under shelter, he waited for Hanna and Emily to reach him, still laughing.

For the first time in what felt like ages, Hanna genuinely smiled. She sat Emily down on one of the hard benches that were under the shelter and Felipinho hoped on beside her, still grinning.

“Here you are,” she said, taking the wrapper from the ice lolly and handing it to Emily, who’s eyes grew wide at the sight of it. Almost immediately the lolly was dropped onto her clothes and Hanna had to dive to catch it before it hit the floor.

“Maybe Emily is a little too little for an ice lolly,” Felipinho said.

“Maybe you’re right,” Hanna said, trying to sort through her bag without touching anything so she could find baby wipes without everything being sticky. “Maybe I’ll have to eat it for her.”

Emily frowned at that reaching out with grabbing hands for the ice lolly.

“Wait a minute,” Hanna said, laughing.

“I wish my mummy was like you,” Felipinho said.

Hanna frowned, confused, but when she looked to see what he was talking about, he was focused on his ice cream. It had just been a passing comment.

“What do you mean?” she asked, uncertain as to whether it was her he should be having this conversation with.

“Your nice,” Felipinho says, matter of fact. “Mummy’s should be nice. It should be a rule.”

Hanna’s not sure what to say. She knows Felipe’s a single parent, but she’d never been close enough to ask what had actually happened to Felipinho’s mum and it had never come up in conversation. She’d never seen the woman, and the only reason she’d known she existed was because she had to exist.

“Yeah,” she agreed. She didn’t want to ask why he needs to tell her that. She doesn’t ask why he’s even thinking about that kind of thing. But she knows she’s going to have to tell Rob when she goes back up. He needs to know about this.

 

Kimi takes Sebastian back to his house, all the time trying to settle him down. He hadn’t told him any more of what had happened to Lewis. He didn’t know about whatever it was Toto had done, he didn’t know about the disappearance. And he didn’t need to know. In a strange way, Kimi was a little please about what had happened with Hanna. At least this would be a distraction for Sebastian. He wouldn’t be worried about whatever it was that Kimi was trying to fix, too concerned with Hanna and Emily.

He didn’t tell Sebastian about this, of course.

“Do you want a drink?” Kimi asked.

“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Sebastian asked, sitting down on the sofa.

“It doesn’t have to be alcohol,” Kimi said, a small smirk tugging at his lips.

“Coffee, please,” Sebastian says, pulling the newspapers that were spread across Kimi’s front table onto his lap. Kimi peered over his shoulder at them, but they were all national prints. None of them were going to have any news about the goings on in Elevency. He disappeared into the kitchen to make the drinks request.

“You found out who knocked down Felipe yet?” Sebastian asked.

“Yeah,” Kimi called from the kitchen. He couldn’t lie about that. If Sebastian’s going to spend any time in Elevency at all, he’s going to find out about that.

There was a small clatter from the living room and then Sebastian appeared in the kitchen. “You found out?”

“Yeah,” Kimi said again, waiting for the kettle to boil.

“Well?” Sebastian asked when Kimi didn’t say anything else.

Kimi shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it matters,” Sebastian said. “That’s what all this shit with Lewis is about, isn’t it?”

“Was Lewis who did it,” Kimi said, pouring the water into mugs of coffee granules.

“ _Lewis_?”

“Have known for a while,” Kimi admitted, stirring in the amount of sugar Sebastian liked. He didn’t mention the tip off from whoever had told Niki. There were a lot of things Sebastian didn’t need to know.

“But… then that was what the attack was about?” Sebastian asked, confused. “It was nothing to do with trying to get Nico against you.”

“No, the attack had nothing to do with the hit and run,” Kimi said. He didn’t want to get into explaining it to him when he didn’t really fully understand it himself. Pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fit together, but he still didn’t think he was anywhere near close enough to know what the actual picture was of.

“Then…”

“The hit and run was… I don’t think this has anything to do with the hit and run,” Kimi said. “But don’t worry about it. I’m sorting it.”

“But…”

“I am sorting it, Sebastian,” Kimi promised, handing him the coffee he had asked for. “Don’t worry about it.”

He pressed a kiss onto Sebastian’s cheek again. Sebastian smiled weakly, still trying to figure out what was going on around him.

 

“Thought I said to wait where I left you?” Niki said when he spotted Hanna and the children under the shelter. “And why do you have another one?”

“Rob said I could have another one,” Felipinho answered, his ice cream nearly finished.

“Rob found me,” Hanna said. “He needed to speak to Felipe about something and asked if I could watch Felipinho.”

“Could have waited where I asked, Hanna,” Niki said with a sigh. He’d spent at least fifteen minutes wondering around the hospital trying to find her.

“Sorry,” she said, quietly.

“It doesn’t matter,” Niki said, quickly. “Thought I should let you know, though, Kimi and Sebastian are back in Elevency.”

“They’re here?”

Niki nodded. “Think they went back to Kimi’s, but am not sure. Need to work out what you’re going to say to them.”

“I’m not saying anything,” Hanna said, trying to stay calm in front of the children.

“You’re going to have to,” Niki said. “Or are you just going to not let Sebastian see Emily?”

“He was cheating on me.”

“Know this,” Niki said. “But that isn’t Emily’s fault, is it? Have to always be thinking about her in this. Is not fair for her to be without her dad.”

Hanna looked down at Emily, trying to eat the ice lolly with most of it dripping down her arm. Niki was right. He may have been really bad at a lot of things, but Sebastian was good with Emily, and she couldn’t take that away from her.

“Alright,” Niki said. “Seems you are busy enough here with these two. Should I take your things back to your house and then come back?”

“Please,” Hanna said, quietly, still looking down at Emily. This could be good for her. If Sebastian was happier like this, it would be better for Emily. “Thank you.”

“It’s ok,” Niki said, but he got a feeling that wasn’t about taking their things home.

 

“Do you want me to do something?” Jenson asked.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know,” Jenson said. “Phone Kevin? Kimi? Something?”

“No,” Nico said, quietly. “I don’t know what to do next.”

“Your dad?” Jenson asked.

Nico looked up so fast he could have given himself whip lash. “No.”

“He might be able to help,” Jenson said, but Nico stands, shaking his head.

“I’m not going to him,” he said. “Where was he when this all kicked off last time? Where is he now? He abandoned me, Jenson. I’m not going crawling back to him.”

“He can help.”

“He doesn’t care,” Nico snapped. “Just stop, Jenson. Stop trying to help because you can’t.”

Jenson sighed, trying to stay calm. He’d been Nico’s friend a long time, but they hadn’t been this close before the truce. He hadn’t been the one helping him then and he had no idea what it had been like.

Maybe they weren’t as strong as he had thought they were.

“Well, if that’s the case, I’m going to get going,” Jenson said. “I’ve left the kids in charge of the coffee shop for a little too long.”

“Just go, Jenson,” Nico said, quietly, falling back into his space in the sofa. “Everyone else does.”

It almost made him stay. Almost. But Jenson knew there was no getting through to Nico whilst he was like this and trying was just going to be a waste of time. He’d do something more useful. He’d sort out all this if Nico couldn’t.

He took his coat from the stand in the hallway and left, unphased by the rain that was drenching the street outside.


	28. In which Kimi buys milk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters are getting shorter and shorter, I know. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.  
> Also, because my word target for this fic dropped from 1000 to 1500 words a day, I'm catching up with myself so this is probably going to have to go to being posted every other day so that I don't run out of things to post. Sorry.

Sebastian jumped up from the sofa when someone knocked on the door. Kimi had only just left to go to the shop, his keys taken from the table by the door, so it couldn’t be him. Nervously, Sebastian puts his now empty mug down on the coffee table and opened the door.

“Jenson?”

He’d been half expecting Hanna, planning what he was going to say to her as he opened the door, and he wasn’t sure if Jenson was better or worse than the expectation. Jenson smiled apologetically at him, unsurprised to find Sebastian in Kimi’s house.

“Is Kimi in?” he asked. “I need to speak to him.”

“He went to the shops,” Sebastian said, holding the door so it was still half open. There was a mad man on the loose and, though he was certain that Jenson would have had nothing to do with the attack on Lewis, there was never such a thing of being over cautious.

“Do you know how long he’s going to be?” Jenson asked. “I really need to speak to him.”

“Not long,” Sebastian said.

“Do you mind if I come in?” Jenson asked. “It’s a little wet out here.”

Reluctantly, Sebastian opened the door a little wider and stepped back to let Jenson inside. “Sorry about the mess. It’s Kimi. He doesn’t like it when I tidy up.”

Jenson barely noticed the mess as he came inside, standing not too far inside so he didn’t drip all over the carpets. Sebastian went back to sitting on the sofa, empty mug in hand, completely forgetting how to act like a host. There was a silence for a moment before Jenson thought of something to say.

“How’s Hanna?”

Sebastian nodded, not entirely sure how he could answer that question. “Well.”

“Good,” Jenson said. That conversation hadn’t lasted as long as he thought it could have. He wondered briefly if Sebastian would be any better at talking about the weather, but was stopped by the door opening and an extremely wet Kimi walking in to him. He probably should have found a better place to stand than the door.

“Sorry,” he said, quickly, stepping back when Kimi glared at him.

Kimi quickly turned to Sebastian. “You let him in?”

Sebastian nodded. Kimi groaned and went into the kitchen to put the milk he had brought into the fridge. Jenson followed him in, noticed the already full bottle in the fridge, but didn’t say anything.

“I need to speak about Nico,” Jenson said.

“Go on then,” Kimi said.

“I take it you heard Lewis has disappeared,” Jenson said.

Kimi nodded and Jenson went to continue when Kimi held up a hand for him to stop. The Finn poked his head into the living room, where Sebastian was still sat playing with his phone, then shut the door that separated the living room and the kitchen.

“Ok, go,” he said.

“Seb doesn’t know?” Jenson asked.

“He’s got enough to worry about,” Kimi said.

“Nico’s in a strange mood,” Jenson said. “We phoned Toto and he seems to think Lewis is still alive and…”

“You phone Toto?” Kimi cut in.

“Yeah?”

Kimi hummed and nodded, leaning against the fridge.

“What’s the matter with that?” Jenson asked.

“Nothing,” Kimi said. “Just would not trust him. He was at the hospital with Lewis when you weren’t.”

“Yeah, they’re close,” Jenson said, confused.

“He’s hiding something,” Kimi said.

“What?”

“Am not sure,” Kimi lied. “If he comes around again, phone me.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m trying to help Nico,” Kimi said. “Want to know what Toto is hiding.”

“Can you do something for Nico?” Jenson asked. “He’s in a state and I don’t know how to snap him out of it.”

“I’ve enough to do.”

“You could at least _try_.” Jenson said.

“Am making things better,” Kimi said. “Is nothing I can do for him but try to figure out what is going on.”

“Thanks a lot,” Jenson muttered.

“You’re welcome,” Kimi said. “Is there anything else?”

“What am I supposed to do with him?” Jenson asked. “I can’t leave him like this.”

“You’re asking the wrong person,” Kimi said. “Have you tried speaking to Keke?”

“He won’t even consider that,” Jenson said.

“Just do it,” Kimi said. “Am guessing he doesn’t know you’ve come here to see me, either.”

“I don’t _enjoy_ going behind his back,” Jenson said.

Kimi shrugged. “You asked what to do and I told you. Is there anything else?”

“Why do you have so much milk?” Jenson asked.

Kimi looked down at his feet, then back up to Jenson. “Everyone needs to clear their head.”

Jenson understood.

“I’ll leave you to it, if you’re busy,” he said quietly, trying to not sound as embarrassed as he really was.

Kimi nodded and pushed himself away from the fridge again to show Jenson asked.

Sebastian looked up as they passed through the living room, gave a small smile when Jenson waved goodbye, but didn’t stand until after Kimi had closed the door.

“What’s happened? Is it Nico?”

“Nothing’s happened,” Kimi lied. “He just wanted to make sure I knew that it was Lewis in the hit and run.”

He didn’t _enjoy_ lying to Sebastian, but he knew how the German would react if he knew the truth, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to cope with the panic. There was a lot of things that none of the residents of Elevency knew. He was pretty sure he knew a lot that even Nico didn’t know. And those things were kept secret to avoid mass panic. He could handle it. He could handle everything and nobody needed to come to him panicking about it.

 

“You look like you’ve been kissing the ice cream monster,” Rob observed when Felipinho bounced back into the hospital room, grinning. Hanna followed him in with a little less enthusiasm, but she still managed to smile tiredly. Rob didn’t expect anymore. “Are you ok?”

Hanna nodded, then sighed and shook her head, shifting Emily a little higher on her hip and rubbing her eyes with her free hand.

“I don’t know what to do,” she said, quietly.

“What’s wrong?” Felipe asked, taking Felipinho from Rob and sitting the child on the bed.

Hanna shook her head again. “It’s nothing. Really, Rob, you’ve got enough to do.”

“Hanna, don’t be silly,” Rob said, standing.

“No, Rob,” Hanna said, stepping back a little. “I’ll sort it out myself. I just… wanted to let you know I’m going.”

“You need to speak to him, Hanna,” Rob said, quietly.

“I know,” Hanna said. “I’ll speak to him.”

“I’m here if you need me,” Rob said, quietly. “I mean it. It doesn’t matter what else is going on. You need to come to me if you need me.”

Hanna smiled weakly, but it only made the tears in her eyes grow and she couldn’t hold it for very long.

“Thanks,” she said, quietly. “I hope things work out for you.”

“They will,” Rob said. “And for you.”


	29. In which explanations are given

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got some messages yesterday to tell me that my writing wasn't very good and I just wanted to let you know that if you have any comments to that effect and want to give constructive criticism, I'd be happy to receive them. I know this isn't the best writing in the world, but it's as good as I can do if I'm not told what's wrong with it.

Kimi groans when there was another knock on the door and shifted enough to force Sebastian to get off of him so he could answer it. If this was another person come to moan at him about Lewis, he was fully prepared to slam the door in their face.

It wasn’t.

Hanna stood, shaking and completely drenched, on his doorstep, Emily on her hip. Emily was wrapped in a bright pink rain coat, but still looked cold. Hanna had walked from the hospital, trying to calm herself down, but it had only made her more and more angry. All the anger was gone though as soon as the door was opened.

Without saying anything, Kimi stepped aside to let Hanna in.

Sebastian looked up from the sofa, then jumped up as soon as he saw who it was, leaping across the room to take Emily from her. Hanna let the child go, watching with tears in her eyes as Sebastian pulled the soaking wet coat from her.

“She’s freezing,” he said. “Did you just decide to take her for a walk in the rain?”

He held Emily against his chest, pretty sure he could feel the small child shaking in his arms.

“Seb,” Hanna said. “We need to talk about this.”

“I was going to talk,” Sebastian said. “I was fully prepared to talk about this and I thought you were to. Then _you_ decided to run off.”

“I was angry,” Hanna said. “It’s understandable.”

“You took my child,” Sebastian snapped.

“Sebastian, calm down,” Kimi said, quietly.

Sebastian opened his mouth to argue then realised what had been said and shut it again immediately, staring at Kimi confused.

“Are acting like a baby,” Kimi said. “Would you like a drink, Hanna?”

“Get me drunk, that’ll make it all better,” Hanna muttered, bitterly.

“Are like him,” Kimi said. “Have coffee, if you would like some.”

“No, thank you,” Hanna said.

“Ok,” Kimi said. He put an arm around Sebastian and sat him down, but he stood himself. “Can leave if you want me to.”

“No,” Sebastian said, quickly, but Kimi was ignoring him.

Hanna thought about it slowly, then sighed and shook her head, sitting down beside Sebastian with Emily between them.

“No, you’re part of this too,” she said, quietly, holding Emily’s hand.

“Right,” Kimi said, sitting on the edge of the cluttered coffee table. “Am guessing you have some questions.”

“Just…” Hanna shuddered as she tried to find the right words. She wasn’t going to start crying again. That was the one thing she had told herself over and over again. She was the strong one. She was always the strong one. Her friends had said Sebastian would bring her down to his level and she was not going to prove them right. “How long?”

She was looking at Sebastian, but he looked up to Kimi for an answer. Kimi shook his head. Sebastian was going to have to answer these himself.

“About a year,” Sebastian said, quietly.

Hanna let out a long sigh and Sebastian wasn’t sure if it was out of relief or disbelief.

She’d managed to convince herself it was longer. She’d picked up on things that weren’t there. Maybe she was just being paranoid. Maybe things weren’t as bad as she’d thought they had been.

That was still a year though. A year of lies. Of nights out drinking. Of sneaking about. But it hadn’t been when she had been pregnant with Emily. It hadn’t been when he had his breakdown. It hadn’t been during the important time.

It was a small relief, but it was a relief.

“A year,” she said, quietly. “When did it… when did it start?”

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know any of this, but she couldn’t just sit there in silence whilst there both staring at her.

“We went out one night,” Sebastian said, his voice shaking a little. He was playing with Emily’s dress now, fiddling and making sure she looked perfect. “I got drunk. Really drunk. So was Kimi. Things happened…” He trailed off. He doesn’t want to talk about that night with Hanna. He can barely remember it himself.

“So, so it’s just… Do you love him?”

The question was directed at Kimi. Under her gaze, he shuffled a little on the table and Hanna didn’t think she’d ever seen the Finn look as uncomfortable as he did then.

Kimi took a deep breath, then nodded. There was nothing he could add to that. Yes, he loved him.

“And you’ll always love him?” Hanna asked, tears beginning to choke her voice. “Because he doesn’t make it easy, you know? He’ll make you doubt yourself. He’ll tell you so many times that you don’t love him that you start to question why you even stick around. He’ll get in a state and try to make you leave, just so he can prove the voices in his head right. And you’ve got to love him through all that. Because that’s just the way he is.”

Sebastian was crying now as well, his hand still on Emily’s dress. Everything Hanna said was true He didn’t know how he managed to get anyone to stick around with him when he acted like that. He would never blame Hanna for leaving him, or Dan, or Kimi. Because, most of the time, he wanted to be as far away from himself as possible too.

“I know,” Kimi said, quietly. He wasn’t looking at Hanna. Nobody was looking at anybody. “And I’ve not been through everything you’ve been through, but I’ll do my best. Because I love him.”

“And Emily?” Hanna asked. “How does she fit into all this?”

“I need her,” Sebastian said, his voice a lot stronger than he thought he would be able to manage.

“She needs a stable home,” Hanna said. “She needs somewhere safe to live. She’s staying with me.”

“I need her,” Sebastian said again.

“She’s staying with Hanna,” Kimi cut in before Hanna could say anything. “A child cannot live here. Look at it, Sebastian. Let Emily stay with Hanna and you see her on visits and when she gets older she can come and stay here. Like families do, yes?”

He looked up to Hanna, waiting for her approval. Hanna shifted Emily so the child was sat back on her lap, but Emily’s hand was still wrapped around Sebastian’s finger and he shifted over on the sofa so he could stay close. He was not letting Hanna take her away from him.

“Yes,” Hanna said. “I’m not taking her away from you, Seb. You’re part of her life.”

“Not as much as before, though,” Sebastian said, quietly.

“You’re the one leaving me,” Hanna reminded him. “I’m her mother. Emily stays with me.”

“This is for the best, Sebastian,” Kimi said. He couldn’t quite believe Hanna was being so calm about this. It was a little worrying, as if he was missing something. But he didn’t question it. He didn’t want to give her reason to change her mind.

“And you’ll be ok,” Sebastian asked, finally looking up at Hanna. He shivers a little when she looked back at him. “You’ll be able to look after her by yourself?”

“I did before,” Hanna pointed out. She didn’t mean for it to come out as harshly as it did.

“I’m sorry,” Sebastian said. “I’m really, really sorry. It’s not going to happen again, if that’s what you think. I’m not just going to leave her again.”

“Seb, that isn’t why she can’t stay here,” Kimi said, moving from his perch on the table to sit beside Sebastian with his arm around him. “It’s nothing to do with you. It’s just the way things are.”

“It’s how families work when they split,” Hanna said. She didn’t know what to do with her hands and was a little thankful to have Emily on her lap so she didn’t automatically go to comfort Sebastian. That wasn’t her place anymore. “It’s not because of what happened. I didn’t mean to say it like that. I’m sorry.”

She hoped Kimi knew what he was getting himself into. She hoped he knew how careful he was going to have to be. How some days anything would trigger him. Sebastian needed looking after and it was all very well and good saying you were ready for that, but Kimi had admitted himself he hadn’t been through half the things she had with him and how did he know he was going to be able to cope.

But if they’d been together for a year, and she knew they’d been friends before then, he had to have some idea.

“But I need her,” Sebastian said. “You don’t get it. She keeps me going.”

“We can do something tomorrow, if you like,” Hanna said. “We can go to the park, if it’s not raining. I’m sure you’d like to go and feed the ducks, wouldn’t you Emily?”

Emily waved her hand, still clutching Sebastian’s finger.

“That would be good,” Kimi said. It would be brilliant. It would keep Sebastian happy and out of his way, as bad as that sounded even in his head.

“All of us?” Sebastian asked, suspiciously.

“The three of you,” Kimi said. “I’ve work to do.”

“Lewis, of course,” Hanna said, quietly. “But, yeah, then, the three of us. You could come home afterwards, if you like. Get your stuff.”

“We’re really doing this, aren’t we?” Sebastian said. After all this time, everything was out in the open. He should have done this months ago. If he’d known Hanna was going to be so calm, he would have.

“It looks like it,” she said. She wasn’t looking at him anymore, watching Emily wave his finger about.

“Thank you,” he said.

“What for?”

“For understanding,” Sebastian said.

Hanna shook her head and looked up at him again. “I don’t understand. But you’ve made your decision, and it doesn’t look like I’m going to be able to change it.”


	30. In which Hanna offers a helping hand and Sebastian tries to make sandwiches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this has been a while.  
> Sorry also that this is a short chapter.  
> Sorry also about bad writing.

Saturdays.

Saturdays were quickly becoming Rob’s least favourite day. He woke up at the same time as every day, wishing he had slept a little more. Wishing the doctor would just prescribe him some sleeping tablets and be done with it. Wishing five year olds respected Saturdays and didn’t get up stupidly earlier to watch cartoons. But he hadn’t slept a little more, and the doctor didn’t prescribe him sleeping pills, and Felipinho insisted on getting up earlier on Saturdays than he did on school days.

Rob sat, curled up on the sofa, drifting in and out of wakefulness whilst the television played babysitter.

There was a phone ringing in the distance and Rob vaguely considered going to answer it, but, after a couple of rings, it stopped. It was probably on the television.

“Rob?” There was a hand patting his knee over and over again and he was pretty sure that wasn’t on the television.

He opened his eyes to find Felipinho offering him the phone.

“It’s Hanna,” he said.

“How did you answer the phone?”

“You were sleeping,” Felipinho said, still showing him the phone.

Rob sighed and uncurled himself. “I wasn’t sleeping, Pea. I was just resting my eyes.”

Felipinho laughed and clearly that was a lie he wasn’t going to be fooled by. Grinning back, Rob took the phone.

“Hanna?”

“Sorry for the early call,” Hanna said. She sounded a lot more cheerful than she had done the day before.

“No, it’s fine,” Rob said, pushing himself up and checking the time. It was almost eight. How was it almost eight? He put the phone on speaker as he went into the kitchen, deciding another cup of coffee was going to be for the best.

“I was just phoning to see if you needed Felipinho taking off your hands for the day,” Hanna said. “I’m taking Emily to the park. I could take him as well.”

Felipinho’s eyes lit up at the sound of that and he was in the kitchen in an instant.

“Can I?”

“It’s ok,” Rob said to Hanna.

“ _Please_ ,” Felipinho begged. “I’ve been good all week, haven’t I?”

Other than running off with strangers, Rob thought, but he didn’t mention that.

Hanna was laughing on the other end of the phone. “It’s really not any bother Rob. Everyone deserves a bit of time to themselves every once in a while.”

“I’ll be good,” Felipinho said. “I can help look after Emily.”

“Oh, and I’m sure Hanna will appreciate your ‘help’,” Rob said, but he couldn’t help but grin at the excitement on the child’s face. “What time do you want him?”

“I can come and pick him up about nine?” Hanna said. “Unless you want to go to the hospital or something earlier. I can come and get him earlier if you need me to.”

“No, nine is great,” Rob said, before adding, upon catching Felipinho’s triumphant grin. “ _If_ he’s good for the rest of the morning.”

“Ah, ok then,” Hanna said, laughing. “I’ll hopefully see you at nine then.”

“See you later,” Rob said, trying to stop himself from laughing.

He took the phone and hung up.

“Right, you have ten minutes to go upstairs and brush your teeth,” he said. “And no soaking the bathroom in the process, alright?”

 

Maybe it was a little earlier to be knocking on Nico’s door again, but Jenson had been worried about leaving him alone all night. He had never liked leaving Nico alone in this state, even when he had somebody at home to make sure he was ok. But Kimi was right. Everyone needed time to clear their heads and there was a chance being alone had shaken Nico out of it. Jenson didn’t have much hope that that was the case, but there was a chance.

It took longer than expected for Nico to open the door and when he did, Jenson was happy to find he’d actually gotten some sleep. Or tried to. He knew he couldn’t judge how successful that had been on the state of Nico.

“Good morning,” Jenson said, cheerfully, as Nico let him in.

“Well, it is definitely morning,” Nico observed. He sighed. He hadn’t long gone to bed. He should have realised Jenson would have had him up again as soon as was humanly possible.

“I was wondering if you could do me a favour,” Jenson said, beginning the plan he had spent most of the night preparing.

“Favour?”

“I have a revolt on my hands,” Jenson admitted. “I left the boys alone in the coffee shop for too long and now they want the day off. You wouldn’t be able to give me a hand would you?”

“Jenson…” Nico said.

“I’d pay you,” Jenson said, as if that was really an issue. “Please, I can’t afford to close on a Saturday and I can’t manage by myself. I’ve no one else I can ask.”

Nico sighed, not realising that it was a little late in the morning to be calling a favour like this and, really, Jenson should have opened up about an hour ago.

“Give me half an hour to make myself look decent,” he said.

“Like it only takes you half an hour,” Jenson joked.

A smile began to tug on the edges of Nico’s frown and Jenson grinned, triumphant. He’d got the old Nico back, if only for half a second.

“I can wait,” he said, trying to swallow his own grin.

Nico rushed back up the stairs and, as soon as Jenson heard the bathroom door slam shut, he silently cheered. Maybe this was the beginning of getting Nico back to normal.

 

When Kimi woke up in the morning, Sebastian was already out of the bed. Kimi frowned when he reached over and found the space empty, then debated opening his eyes to find out where he had gone. He opened his eyes and instantly regretted it. Quarter past eight. Why was anyone up that early? Then he remembered.

Sebastian was in the kitchen, making a packed lunch. The last time he’d been so nervous about spending time with Emily was when she was only a small baby, after he’d come back from wherever it had been that he had gone. Hanna hadn’t left him alone with her for almost six months and at the time he had been grateful. Now he wasn’t so sure. Now he wanted to spend time with just her, without her mother’s judgmental watch, but this was as good as he was going to get and he wasn’t going to turn that down.

“Hanna will have made a lunch,” Kimi said, watching Sebastian from the end of the kitchen as he tried to detach one piece of ham from the other.

“I know,” Sebastian said, not looking at him. “But I don’t want her to think I’ve just assumed.”

“You have just assumed,” Kimi pointed out.

“I know, but… urgh.” Sebastian threw both pieces of ham onto the counter and fell back onto the one behind him. “I need to convince her I can look after Emily.”

“She knows you can look after Emily,” Kimi said.

“Then why is she doing this?” Sebastian asked.

“Because this is how families work,” Kimi said. “She loves Emily too. She’s not just going to give her up. You’ll spend time with her, don’t worry.”

Of course Sebastian was worrying. He was always worrying.

“She’s not going to be here for another hour yet,” Kimi said. “Let me have some coffee and then I’ll be your sous chef, alright?”


	31. In which Rob trusts Hanna and Nico breaks a mug

It was almost exactly nine o’clock when Hanna knocked on the door and Felipinho bounced down the stairs to answer it, but the chain was still on the door. The chain was always on the door now. Rob followed after a couple of seconds, grinning, and let Hanna in, helping her bring the pushchair in as well.

“Someone sounds like they’re ready to go,” Hanna laughed.

“We haven’t been to the park in _ages_ ,” Felipinho said.

“We went a couple of weeks ago,” Rob pointed out.

“That was _ages_ ago,” Felipinho said, bouncing from foot to foot.

Rob had to agree with him. It felt like ages ago to him as well.

“Hanna, can I talk to you a minute?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Hanna said.

“Pea, why don’t you go and get a book that you can read to Emily in the park,” Rob suggested.

“Then can we go?” Felipinho asked.

“Then we can go,” Hanna agreed, then stepped aside to let the five year old race up the stairs. “What’s up?”

“It’s… we’ve had a couple of scares,” Rob explained. “There’s a woman who’s been taking him. She took him from the house a couple of days ago and then from school yesterday.”

“What?”

“She’s told him that she’s his mother,” Rob said. “We don’t know if it’s true. Felipe doesn’t remember and obviously I don’t know. But be careful with him. Keep an eye on him.”

“Of course,” Hanna said. “Rob that’s awful. As if you don’t have anything else to worry about. You should have told me yesterday. He said something about his mum when we went to get ice cream. He said he wished she was nice.”

Rob nodded. “He’s convinced she’s his mum. I’ve had to tell him that she’s not a good person and he didn’t take that very well.”

“I’ll bet,” Hanna said. “Kids just want what they think is normal.”

“He thought this was normal until she showed up,” Rob muttered darkly.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Hanna promised as Felipinho bounced back down the stairs, the book under his arm. “Are you ready to go now then?”

Felipinho nodded quickly. “Bye Rob.”

“Be a good boy for Hanna, ok?” Rob said. “I mean it. And be careful by the duck pond.”

“I will,” Felipinho promised.

“Right then. I’ll see you later,” Rob said, smiling. “Thank you,” he said, quietly, to Hanna.

Hanna smiled back. “Don’t worry about it.”

 

The coffee shop was always busy on a Saturday and Jenson really didn’t like leaving someone else in charge. He was glad Nico had agreed to stay with him there, as he knew he couldn’t risk leaving him on his own again, either.

Nico got into the swing of things easily, having helped Jenson out a couple of times. Like Jenson, he was a charmer, getting more giggles from the girls that wondered in than even Jenson did, and he couldn’t stop himself getting a little jealous, but the smile on Nico’s face when he got one in return was enough to squash the jealousy and Jenson went back to whatever he was doing.

He had been clearing and wiping down tables when he heard the crash of a cup against the floor, and he looked up to find Nico staring at the next customer in line. Jenson gulped and rushed over to help clear up, hoping he had done the right thing in following Kimi’s advice.

Nico’s eyes flicked onto Jenson as he rushed over and dumped the tray of empty mugs beside the dishwasher.

“You phoned him?” Nico asked, ignoring the customer.

“Phoned who?” Jenson asked, taking the dustpan and brush and cleaning up the shards of smashed mug so he didn’t have to look Nico in the eye.

“You set me up?” Nico asked, the disbelief edging into his voice.

“Nico,” the customer tried but Nico wasn’t listening. He pulled Jenson up from the floor, the collected shards of mug spilling onto the floor in the process.

“I told you not to phone him.”

“He didn’t phone me,” Keke said, trying to hide his annoyance. “Nobody phoned me Nico. You’re in trouble. And you need my help. So I came.”

“Who told you I needed help?” Nico spat.

“Are you saying you don’t?” Keke asked. “When Lewis has disappeared and you are working in a coffee shop?”

“I’m helping out a friend,” Nico muttered. “And I am dealing with Lewis on my own. I do not need your help.”

“Do you want to talk in the break room?” Jenson offered. This wasn’t going as well as he had hoped it would and the customers didn’t need the show.

“No,” Nico spat at the exact same time his father said “Yes.”

“Nico, we need to talk about this,” Keke said.

“I’m not talking about anything with you,” Nico snapped. “You abandoned me. Or don’t you remember that?”

“Nico, I really think we should talk about this somewhere private,” Keke said.

“Come on,” Jenson said, quietly, eyeing the queue that was beginning to build behind the older Rosberg.

“No,” Nico said, shrugging away Jenson when he tried to lead him into the break room. “No, I am not talking about this at all. Where were you when I needed you? Where were you when Kimi Räikkönen was planning to have me killed? Where were you when I _needed_ you? Nowhere. You didn’t care then and I know you don’t care now either. So just go.”

“Of course I care…”

“Just. Go.”

Keke glanced over at Jenson, who was pretending to be busy reorganising something on the shelves.

Nico noticed the look.

“You phoned him, didn’t you?” he said.

“I thought it would help,” Jenson said, quietly. “Kimi said…”

“Oh, _Kimi_ said,” Nico snapped. “Well, if _Kimi_ said, then I guess you had to do it, didn’t you Jenson? Never mind what _I_ said. Never mind what _your fucking boyfriend_ said.”

Nico pulled the apron he was wearing off and threw it unceremoniously at Jenson. He knew the entire café had gone silent and everyone was watching him now but he didn’t care. He didn’t care about any of them. He marched through the crowded but still room, trying to keep whatever dignity he had left, and out of the building.

Jenson watched him go, his brain still trying to come up with a reply and his mouth open and waiting.

“I’ll go after him,” Keke said.

“No,” Jenson said, quickly. “No, you won’t help.”

“I think I know my own son.”

“But you don’t, that’s the point,” Jenson said, sliding out from behind the bar and, ignoring the fact there was nobody there to cover for him, ran out of the café and after Nico.

 

The knock at the door came at, according to Sebastian’s watch twenty six minutes past nine.

“She’s early,” he whispered, still in the kitchen and finishing his third coffee of the morning.

“It’ll be ok,” Kimi said, holding Sebastian’s shoulders from behind and placing a kiss on the side of his head. “You will be fine. Do you want me to answer the door?”

Sebastian nodded, and Kimi slid his hands away from him to answer the door.

He tried to smile at Hanna, and Hanna tried to smile back, but neither of them would deny that it was awkward.

“Is Seb ready?” Hanna asked, peering into the house, but she couldn’t see Sebastian hiding in the kitchen.

“I think so,” Kimi said. “Do you want to come in?”

“It’s ok,” Hanna said, awkwardly. “The pushchair doesn’t like steps.”

It had never stopped her bringing it into Rob’s, or anywhere else for that matter, but it was a good enough excuse for Kimi.

“Seb are you ready?” Kimi called into the kitchen, knowing he was ready. Knowing he had been ready to go for half an hour now.

Sebastian was still in the kitchen, holding on to the counter as if it was the only thing keeping him from floating off. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to convince himself what Kimi said was true. Trying to convince himself this wasn’t his fault, and that this had nothing to do with what had happened when Emily had been born. But he couldn’t. He never could.

“Seb?”

He jumped away from the cold hands on his waist and opened his eyes. Kimi frowned at him, concerned, but he said nothing. He didn’t know _what_ to say, and Sebastian didn’t blame him.

“Are you ok?” Kimi asked.

“I’m fine,” Sebastian said, ignoring the fact he felt like he was going to faint. “I’m coming now.”

He took the small plastic bag of food he had prepared and followed Kimi into the kitchen, his hand clutching Kimi’s like he had clutched the counter.

Hanna smiled at him sadly, stepping back to let Sebastian come outside.

Kimi wanted to warn her about how scared Sebastian was, but knew that she knew the German probably better than he did and wouldn’t need the warning. He didn’t kiss Sebastian good bye, not wanting to ruin whatever it was that was keeping Hanna so calm, but squeezed his hand before letting it go.

“I’ll see you later, ok?” he said. “Have a good time.”

Sebastian smiled weakly and followed Hanna down the steps to where Felipinho was waiting with Emily, Emily snug in her pushchair this time.

“We have Felipinho as well?” Sebastian asked, taking the pushchair from Hanna so she could hold the boys hand as they walked towards the park.

“I offered to help Rob out,” Hanna said. “That isn’t a problem, is it?”

“No, of course not,” Sebastian said, his smile growing a little when he focused on it. “As long as I get to spend time with this one.”

Emily gurgled when Sebastian tipped the pushchair up so she could see him, her fingers in her mouth.

Hanna smiled as a beam stretched Sebastian’s face. This couldn’t be _that_ hard.


	32. In which the ducks are fed...

“Nico, just wait a second,” Jenson called after him as Nico practically ran across the street, keeping his head low so nobody would see the tears running down his face. This was the last thing he needed right now. He had a million and one things he needed to sort out and he didn’t need anything else adding to that.

“Nico, wait,” Jenson said, grabbing Nico’s hand.

“Stop telling me what to do, Jenson, because you have no idea what is going on,” Nico snapped, pulling his hand away from Jenson’s. He did stop though, jabbing a finger into Jenson’s chest. “Why don’t you run back to your stupid little coffee shop and have a drink with my so called dad, seeing as you care more about him than you do me.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Jenson said, quietly. “Nico, I love you.”

“Then why did you bring him here?” Nico cried. “Do you not listen to a word I say?”

“I was worried about you,” Jenson snapped. “I don’t know what to do, do I? And Toto isn’t really doing much. I don’t give a shit about Lewis or what’s going on with Kimi or any of that. I just want you to be safe, and I don’t know how to do that by myself, so I got someone who I thought might be able to help.”

Nico blinked at him, finding himself unable to move or speak. Jenson took his hand again, gently rubbing circles into it with his thumb. For a long time, they stayed like that, waiting for the other to rescue them from the silence.

“I can’t go back in there,” Nico said, eventually, spitting out the first thing that came to his mind. “I’m sorry, Jense, but I’m not speaking to him.”

“Ok,” Jenson said, quietly. “You don’t have to. What do you want me to say to him?”

“Nothing,” Nico said. “Just tell him to leave. Tell him I don’t want to speak to him. I don’t forgive him and I don’t want to speak to him.”

“He is your dad, Nico,” Jenson said quietly. “I know things happened between you two, but you’re still family. I know if I could go back now…”

“No,” Nico said, quickly. He wasn’t being guilt tripped into doing anything. “Things were different with your dad. He cared about you. I am a disappointment. No, I _know_ I am. But I don’t care. I don’t need to meet his approval anyway. He never even wanted me in the family business, you know? He would have just handed everything over to Räikkönen if he hadn’t wanted the Rosberg name in there somehow.”

“Ok,” Jenson said. He wasn’t going to be able to convince him otherwise. “What are you going to do now then?”

Nico shrugged. “I’ll go to the hospital and see if the police have done anything useful. Then go to see Räikkönen, probably.”

“You’re trusting him now?”

“Not really,” Nico admitted. “But he doesn’t have to know that.”

 

“We haven’t done anything like this in ages,” Hanna said, walking beside the pushchair as Sebastian pushed it. The park was almost empty, too cold for anybody but joggers and dog walkers, and even they were few and far between. “We should have done this more often.”

“Yeah,” Sebastian agreed quietly. He didn’t tell her how often he came to walk in the park when she thought he was with Dan and Dan thought he was with Hanna. Alone. It was peaceful. It felt strange being here with someone else, but he wasn’t sure if it was a good strange or not.

“Hanna,” Felipinho said, quietly. He still had hold of Hanna’s hand, having been warned not to let go at least three times on the walk to the park. “Can I let go now?”

“When we get to the pond, ok?” Hanna said.

“Ok,” Felipinho said, disappointed. He wanted to show them how fast he could go, but he’d promised Rob he’d be good and if he was good then Hanna might take him to the park more times, and maybe they would get ice cream again. That sounded much better than going fast.

“How come you offered to help out Rob?” Sebastian asked, trying not to sound as annoyed about it as he was.

“He’s a friend,” Hanna said. “He’s helped me out enough times.”

“Sorry,” Sebastian said, quietly, knowing what times she was referring to.

“No, it’s ok, Seb,” Hanna said with a sigh, linking her arm through Sebastian’s. He couldn’t unlink them without looking rude, and really didn’t want to upset Hanna, so they carried on walking like that for a while. Hanna walked closer to Sebastian, seemingly forgetting they weren’t a couple anymore.

There weren’t many ducks in the pond when they arrived, but even a few was enough to get Emily squealing with excitement.

“Do you want to get out?” Hanna laughed, pulling away from Sebastian to crouch in front of the pushchair and undo the straps that kept their daughter from leaping out. “Do you want to feed the ducks?”

“Wack wack,” Emily mimicked, pointing and almost pocking Hanna’s eye out in the process.

“That’s right,” Sebastian said, taking on the baby talk voice Hanna had already adopted. “Can you say duck?”

“Dugs,” Emily said, happily, jumping out of the pushchair as soon as the straps were lose enough. “Dugs! Dugs! Wack wack!”

“Away from the edge,” Hanna warned pulling Emily away from the edge of the pond.

“I will show her,” Felipinho offered, helpfully, holding out his hand to stop Emily going any closer.

By the time Sebastian had managed to get the bread out from the bottom of the pushchair, Emily was squealing with excitement and the few ducks that were in the pond had come over to see what all the fuss was about.

Emily and Felipinho sat on the still damp grass with the bread between them, Felipinho “helping” Emily tear the bread up and throw it into the water.

Hanna sighed happily, holding onto Sebastian’s arm. Sebastian wriggled free uncomfortably, pretending not to notice.

“Seb?”

“Yeah?”

“What’s wrong?” Hanna asked.

“Nothing,” Sebastian lied. “I just… I care about you Hanna. I don’t want to hurt you.”

He knew that was a stupid thing to say, but he also knew he couldn’t string her along. They couldn’t be a family anymore, as much as he wanted Emily all to himself.

“You should have thought about that before you decided to leave me for Kimi Räikkönen,” Hanna muttered.

“I’m sorry,” Sebastian says again. “I really am, I never meant for this to happen. I didn’t _want_ it to happen. It just did.”

“It’s not too late you know,” Hanna said. “We can still be a family. You can still change your mind.”

Sebastian shook his head. “It wasn’t working Hanna.”

“I _love_ you Seb,” Hanna said. “Why don’t you get that?”

“It’s not that,” Sebastian said, trying to stay calm. “I know you do, and I’m a horrible person for doing this to you, but I _have_ to.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Hanna snapped. “You can be with us. You can be with me and Emily. It’s your choice.”

“It isn’t a choice, though,” Sebastian snapped back. “Honestly, tell me the truth. If you had a choice over who you loved, it wouldn’t be me, would it? It would be someone sane. Someone who could support you. Someone who wouldn’t run off and try to kill themselves. If you could choose who you loved, you would choose a decent human being. But you can’t. And I can’t either.”

Emily stood, wobbling on her feet, and Felipinho jumped up too.

“Are not allowed any closer,” he said, holding a hand out to stop Emily moving, but she just wobbled on her feet, clapping her hands when the ducks took the bread she had thrown in.

Felipinho looked up at Hanna and Sebastian, but there was lots of shouting and hand waving now. It looked like he was going to have to be the grown up.

“Make sure the bread is in little pieces,” he told Emily again, taking a slice of bread from her and ripping it up and handing pieces back to Emily. “Then we have more to throw, don’t we?”

“Dugs,” Emily said, throwing the bread as hard as she could. It landed on one of the ducks’ backs, making her giggle.

“Ducks,” Felipinho corrected her, tearing off another piece of bread.

“Dugs,” Emily repeated, trying to throw the bread even harder this time.

“ _Ducks_ ,” Felipinho corrected her, handing the last of the slice of bread to Emily. There was still half a loaf of bread left and Felipinho left Emily to get some more for them.

“Dugs, Emily repeated, throwing the bread harder again. Her momentum didn’t stop when she let go of the piece though and she stumbled forward.

“What did I do wrong?” Hanna cried, stepping back when Sebastian tried to take a step towards her.

“Nothing,” Sebastian insisted. “You did nothing wrong. Hanna, you’re probably the most amazing person I’ve ever met but I just don’t-.”

SPLASH!

They both spun to see the ducks flying away from the pond, Felipinho stood with the bread at his feet, and Emily nowhere to be seen.

“Emily!”

Sebastian was the first one to move, knocking over the pushchair to get into the water. The pond was deep, much deeper than it had looked, and Sebastian disappeared under the murky, freezing water to look for Emily.

“Seb, where is she?” Hanna was shaking kneeling on the bank. “Seb, tell me you have her.”

Felipinho stepped back from the pond, shaking. He’d let Emily fall in. He’d let Emily fall in and Hanna was never going to take him to the park ever again. What if Emily was hurt? What if Emily was hurt like Daddy and it would be his fault again?

Someone took his hand. He looked up, surprised.

The lady.

“Come on, let’s go,” she said.

Felipinho shook his head.

“They’ll tell you off if you stay here,” she said, pulling on his hand a little. “You don’t want to be told off, do you?”

Sebastian finally broke the surface again, Emily in his arms. Her coat was gone, water logged and weighing her down. Emily chocked and spluttered, sobbing as best she could between coughs, but she was breathing.

“Oh my god, Emily,” Hanna said, struggling to breath herself. She scooped her daughter up in her arms. “She’s freezing, Seb. We have to take her to hospital.”

“Do you need me to phone an ambulance?” Sebastian asked, pulling off his own soaking wet jacket. “Or Kimi. He’d be quicker.”

“Just phone someone,” Hanna cried, pulling off her coat and wrapping it around Emily. Emily’s teeth were shattering, the coughing having finished but the sobs still coming. “What did I say, hey? I said don’t go near the water didn’t I? Felipinho, come- Felipinho?”

She stopped, spinning around. Sebastian stopped too, also noticing the missing child.

“Felipinho?” Hanna called. “Emily? Emily sweetie, go to Daddy, I need to find Felipinho, ok?”

“Where is he?” Sebastian asked, taking Emily from Hanna.

“I don’t know,” Hanna said. “Rob’s going to kill me.”


	33. In which Sebastian and Hanna argue, Felipinho isn’t allowed to go fast, and Felipe doesn’t listen...

“Where are we going?” Felipinho asked. The lady was holding his hand so tightly it hurt and Felipinho wanted to pull away, but he couldn’t. “Rob says I am not allowed to go with you and I am not allowed to get into trouble.”

“Why did he say that?” the lady asked with a laugh. It didn’t sound like a _real_ laugh, Felipinho thought.

“Because he says you are a bad lady,” Felipinho said.

“I can’t be a bad lady,” the lady said. “I’m your mummy.”

“I know,” Felipinho said. He was still a little confused about that. “But that’s what Rob says.”

“That’s just because I’m playing a little game with Rob,” the lady said. “He’s just telling jokes. I’m not really a bad lady. Don’t worry.”

“Where are we going?” Felipinho asked again.

“We’re going to go to my house,” the lady said smiling. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Are you sure I won’t get in trouble?” Felipinho asked. “Because I don’t want to get in trouble.”

“I promise you won’t,” the lady said, pulling Felipinho along quicker now. They were out of the park and Felipinho couldn’t see Hanna if he looked back.

“Will Emily be ok?” he asked.

“She’ll be fine, don’t you worry,” the lady said. She stopped and picked him up. He wasn’t going fast enough.

“I can go faster, if you want,” he said. “You don’t need to carry me. I can go really fast. Even faster than Rob. Even faster than Daddy.”

“It’s ok,” the lady said, not putting him down. She didn’t want to see how fast he could go.

“But Daddy says I don’t need to be picked up because I’m not a baby anymore,” Felipinho said.

“You’ll always be my baby, ok,” the lady whispered into his ear, holding him tighter.

Felipinho frowned. He wasn’t sure if he liked the sound of that. Emily was a baby. Not him.

But the lady gave good hugs, and he did like that.

“Do you have sweets at your house?” he asked.

“Lots.”

Well, that was ok then. And if Hanna and Sebastian were busy looking after Emily, it would probably be better for them if he wasn’t there.

 

“Hey,” Rob said, smiling, as he came into the room. He was thankful to see Felipe wasn’t trying to get out of the bed this time. “How are you feeling?”

“Where’s Felipinho?” Felipe asked, quickly.

“He’s with Hanna,” Rob said, calmly, taking Felipe’s hand. “She’s taken him and Emily to go to feed the ducks. It’s ok. We’re not going to let that woman take him, Felipe. I promise.”

“His mother,” Felipe said, gulping slightly. It was all he could think about. He’d taken a child away from its mother and he didn’t know why but it couldn’t be for a good reason. What possible reason could he have for that?

“You don’t know that,” Rob said gently. “And even if it is, you took him for the right reasons, ok?”

“You don’t-.”

“And I do know that,” Rob said, leaning forward to press a kiss against Felipe’s lips. Without thinking, Felipe kissed him back and, for a second, Rob could pretend that none of this nightmare had happened.

“The doctors are saying I’m going to be able to take you home soon,” Rob said, pulling away to sit back down. “If you’re good and don’t decide you want to go wondering off.” He laughed a little, but Felipe doesn’t even smile. “I was thinking we could surprise Pea. I was thinking we should, actually, because he’ll never sleep if we tell him you’re coming home and it’ll be “Today? Today?” every day until you do come home…”

Felipe was nodding, but Rob’s voice faded into the background as he sunk further and further into his own thoughts. He’d been trying to work out all night what he was going to say to the woman, if she came again. He didn’t even known her _name_ , which was beginning to bug him a little. What was he going to do, if she came back with all the news articles like she’d promised? What was Rob going to do when she showed him? There was no way Rob was going to stick around if she had evidence. It was a miracle he was sticking around as it was…

“And I was thinking we could have a party as well,” Rob said, sliding naturally into the bored sarcasm he always fell into when Felipe had that glazed look in his eye. “And we could invite the president of Russia because why not? I doubt he’s got anything better to do. We could probably get him to organise the wedding for us, if we got him drunk enough. Felipe? Are you listening?”

“Yes,” Felipe said, automatically. “Am _always_ listening. Do not know why you always ask.”

Rob laughed. He never thought he would have found the familiar phrase so comforting.

The laughing stopped as soon as he realised.

“You always ask,” Felipe said, quietly, his eyes wide in shock.

Rob nodded, slowly, hoping this was leading to where he thought it was.

“You always ask, and I always say that,” Felipe continued.

Rob nodded again, trying to keep the smile from breaking onto his face, because he didn’t think he would be able to deal with the disappointment if this wasn’t leading where he thought it was.

“And have always been doing that,” Felipe said, speaking faster now. “Have been doing that for as long as have been together and longer. Since I came to you after…”

Rob was nodding and he couldn’t stop the grin now.

“You remember?” he asked.

Felipe nodded, still a little in shock. He didn’t react when Rob pulled him into a hug, pressing Felipe’s cheek against his chest and holding on so tightly Felipe thought he had forgotten he needed to breathe.

“You remember,” Rob whispered, his own breathing shaky now as he pressed a kiss into Felipe’s hair.

“Remember,” Felipe whispered, struggling away from Rob. “Remember what she did. Rob, cannot let her have Felipinho.”

“I’m not going to, sunshine, don’t worry,” Rob said, running his hand through Felipe’s hair.

“No, you don’t understand,” Felipe said, pulling away from Rob. “I know what she did. She can’t take him.”

“What… what did she do?” Rob asked.

There were tears in Felipe’s eyes when he shook his head. “I can’t tell you, Rob.”

“Felipe, you can tell me anything,” Rob said. “You know that.”

“But not this,” Felipe said. “Please, Rob. Trust me.”

“I do, but you’re starting to worry me,” Rob said. “It’s her who’s done this, Felipe, whatever it is. Not you.”

“But I let it happen,” Felipe whispered. “I let it get too far and I should have stopped it.”

“Stopped what?” Rob asked again. “Felipe, whatever it is, I’m not going to stop loving you, ok?”

“But you don’t understand,” Felipe said again. “I was pathetic and now Felipinho is going to pay for it. She can’t take him, Rob. Go and get him, please.”

He was crying now. She couldn’t have Felipinho, but he couldn’t tell Rob why. He couldn’t lose Rob and if he knew what had really happened…

“I will go and get him,” Rob said. “As soon as you tell me what she did.”

He wasn’t sure why he needed to know so badly. He told himself it was so he was better able to convince Felipe that everything he was saying was false, but he wasn’t sure if that was really the motivation. Maybe he needed some kind of confirmation himself. He was never going to tell Felipe that, though.

“Please,” he said, quietly. “It’ll help.”

“She beat me.”

 

“He can’t have gone far,” Sebastian said, running after Hanna. He still had Emily wrapped up in his arms. They were heading out of the park and they would have to go there to wait for Kimi to pick them up anyway. “He’ll have gone to the swings or something.”

“No, Rob told me to watch him,” Hanna said, tears still burning in her eyes. “He said someone was trying to snatch him and they have done. Well done, Seb.”

“This is _my_ fault?” Sebastian cried. He wasn’t entirely sure where she had gotten that from. “You’re the one who offered to bring him here in the first place. Why would you bring him to a park if you knew someone was trying to snatch him?”

“We are not arguing about this now,” Hanna said. “Felipinho! Felipinho, come back!”

Rob was going to kill her. He really was going to kill her. As if he wasn’t dealing with enough at the moment and now she was going to throw a missing child into the mix.

“Phone the police,” Sebastian said.

“Oh, because they’re a load of good,” Hanna snapped.

Sebastian wasn’t entirely sure why she was so angry at him, as if this was his fault.

“Phone them, and they’ll help look for him.”

They arrived onto the road that ran on around the outside of the park and stopped, Hanna struggling to come up with an idea as to what to do next. Sebastian bounced Emily on his hip whilst they waited, trying to quieten her crying. She was still freezing, her teeth chattering in Sebastian’s ear, but there was nothing else he could think of doing. He was freezing too, water dripping off of him and leaving a trail all the way back to the duck pond.

“If you’re not going to phone the police, I will,” Sebastian said, shifting Emily over so he could get his phone out of his pocket.

Before he could call anybody, a car pulled up alongside them and Kimi jumped out carrying an armful of blankets and a hot water bottle.

“Did not know what to bring,” he said.

“Felipinho’s gone missing,” Sebastian said, taking the blankets from Kimi and wrapping Emily in them before strapping her into the back seat of the car.

“The Massa kid?” Kimi asked. “He’s causing trouble again.”

“No, he’s been taken,” Hanna said, completely forgetting everything else that was going on. Emily needed getting to hospital and Felipinho needed finding. That was all that mattered.

“Get in the car,” Kimi said. “Will take you to the hospital and see what I can do about the Massa kid.”


	34. In which Felipinho has biscuits and Felipe tells the truth

Rob blinked, trying not to look as surprised as he was. Of all the scenarios he had come up with, that hadn’t been one. “She… she what?”

“See now why I did not want to tell you?” Felipe snapped. “Was fine. Have been fine all the way up until now. It was in the past and it didn’t matter anymore.”

“She beat you?” Rob asked again. He wasn’t sure what he expected the answer to be.

“Was not…” Felipe bit his lip, trying to come up with the right words. It wasn’t telling people that was the problem. It was the questions that came afterwards. And the muttering and the rumours and the sniggers. That was when there was problems. “Was not a happy house. She would get angry a lot. Angry at me, and at herself, and at other people that we knew. And I was just there, I suppose. She never meant to hurt me… Probably made it worse. Was why I had to take Felipinho. She never meant to hurt me and she was always sorry. But if she didn’t mean to hurt me and she did, what was stopping her hurting him. And I couldn’t let that happen. If I’d stopped her before… if I’d left her before, none of this would have happened. If I had been a man, none of this would have happened.”

After Felipe finished, Rob stared at him a while longer. Felipe wasn’t looking at him anymore, but Rob knew he knew he was staring. But he just couldn’t tear his eyes away. Every time he tried, they shot back to him in an instant.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, eventually. He had so many questions, but that seemed like the best place to start.

“You would have taken me in then?” Felipe asked. “Would have even believed me?”

“Of course I would have,” Rob said. He’d heard stranger stories working as he did.

Felipe laughed and shook his head. “People did not even believe me back home. People did not believe me when they _saw_ the bruises. Was only one friend – remember the one I was staying with? - who would help me. Everyone else thought I was mad. Was looking for attention. Or that I deserved it. Maybe I did.”

“What could you have possibly done to deserve that?” Rob asked. He reached for Felipe’s hand, but the Brazilian pulled it away.

Felipe shrugged. “Should not have let it go on as long as it did.”

“That doesn’t make it your fault,” Rob tried. “Come here.”

Felipe looked up at him, but almost as soon as they made eye contact, his eyes shot back down. Rob sighed and got out of the chair to sit on the edge of the bed, pulling Felipe into another hug. He could feel the smaller man shaking beneath him, and hugged tighter, pressing kisses into his hair.

“I wish I could change things,” he muttered. “I wish I could make it so that none of it happened. But it happened. And that doesn’t make you any less of a person. And I would never, ever think that, ok?”

“Have to go and get Felipinho,” Felipe mumbled. “Have to go and make sure she doesn’t have him. Why did she come back now, Rob? Is not fair.”

“No,” Rob said. “It’s not. I’m going to phone Hanna now and see if she can bring him here, ok? I’ll be five minutes, alright.”

He stood and, reluctantly, pulled away from Felipe. Felipe looked up at him with tears in his eyes.

“You don’t hate me?” he asked. “Not even for not telling you?”

“I could never hate you, sunshine,” Rob said, quietly, pressing their lips together before he left to make the phone call.

 

The lady’s house was nice, Felipinho thought. It wasn’t as big as home, but it was nice. She let him sit on top of the counter when Daddy would normal have told him off for that, and let him have _two_ biscuits – one for each hand – whilst she made some coffee.

“Aww ou oing ou ell ahah air oo a?” he asked through a mouthful of Digestive biscuit.

The lady laughed. “Maybe you should try swallowing first?” she suggested.

Felipinho chewed quickly and swallowed. “Are you going to tell Hanna where I am?”

“Why would I do that, sweetie?” the lady asked, confused.

“Because she might be worried,” Felipinho said.

“Hanna’s busy with Emily, isn’t she?” the lady said. “That’s what mummies do. They look after their babies. So I’ll look after you and Hanna can look after Emily.”

“Why didn’t you look after me before?” Felipinho asked. It didn’t make much sense to him. He’d never had a mummy before, like Emily did, but that didn’t matter, because he had a Daddy and he had a Rob, and Emily didn’t have a Rob. But now he had a mummy, and a daddy, and a Rob, and that was more than any of his friends had.

“Because I didn’t know where you were before,” the lady said.

“Did I get lost?” Felipinho asked. “Was it when we went shopping? Because I don’t wander off anymore. Sometimes Daddy or Rob wanders off, but I stay still. So really, they get lost, not me.”

“You got lost, but it wasn’t when we went shopping, sweetie,” the lady said. “You and daddy both got lost together.”

Felipinho laughed. “Daddy’s a little silly sometimes.”

“Yeah,” the lady said, quietly.

“What’s wrong?” Felipinho asked.

“Nothing.”

“You’re sad,” Felipinho said. “I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

“You didn’t make me sad,” the lady said.

“What made you sad?”

“I was just sad that you got lost,” the lady said. “But it’s ok, because now I’ve found you. And you are never going to get lost again, ok?”

 

Rob was at the hospital entrance, scrolling through his contacts in search of Hanna when the person in question rushed past him, carrying Emily, with Sebastian following close behind.

“Hanna?”

Hanna didn’t stop or even look back, bursting into the accident and emergency room and rushing to the desk.

Rob followed her.

“What happened?” he asked.

“Emily fell in the duck pond,” Sebastian said. “She’s freezing.”

“Is she ok. Wait- where’s Pea?”

He looked around again, half expecting the five year old to burst into the room and complain about not being first. But he didn’t. Hanna and Sebastian looked at each other, the nurse at the accident and emergency desk trying to ask them what was wrong.

“Kimi’s looking for him,” Sebastian said.

“He’s missing?” Rob asked.

“Emily fell in the pond,” Hanna said. “And then we were getting her out of the pond and when we looked up, he was gone. We looked for him Rob, but he was gone and we needed to bring Emily here.”

“Kimi’s looking for him,” Sebastian said again.

Rob wanted to yell at them both. He’d told Hanna. He’d told Hanna what was going on, but she still let him get taken. The rational part in his brain was telling him that it was completely understandable that Hanna would be focused on making sure her daughter didn’t drown, but that was shouted down by the angry part. The part that knew he had let Felipe down _again_. And he wanted to yell at them. But he didn’t.

He spun on his heel and left the building.

“Ma’am, you need to tell me what’s wrong before I can do anything?” the nurse said, stopping Hanna from going after Rob.

 

Someone was knocking on the door. Not once or twice like people normally did when they knocked on the door, but lots. They didn’t stop.

The lady looked worried.

“You need to go upstairs, ok?” she said, lifting him up off of the side. “You need to go upstairs and be really quiet, ok? Do you think you can do that?”

“Why?” Felipinho asked. It seemed like a really silly thing to do.

“It’s important, ok?” the lady said. “It’s really, really important.”

“Ok,” Felipinho said, letting the lady shepherd him up the stairs.

When he was sat in the bathroom floor with his back pressed against the bath, the lady went back downstairs. The knocking stopped when she opened the door.

“You need to stop doing this.”

Felipinho frowned. He knew the voice, but he couldn’t remember where from.

“He’s my son,” the lady said.

“You are going about this the wrong way,” the other voice – it sounded like a man, but Felipinho wasn’t sure. “If you want him back properly, you cannot just keep running off with him.”

“I’m not the one running off with him, though, am I?” the lady said. “Do you have any idea what it’s been like for me, Kimi? What it has been like for five years? He deserves this.”

“Of course he does,” the other voice said. “But it is not going to last for long, is it? You have to do things properly, or else you will never see him again, and then who has won?”

“I just… I just want my son to know I’m his mummy,” the lady said.

“I know. It must be hard. But have to do this properly. Where is he?”

“Upstairs,” the lady said. “Kimi? Kimi, please don’t.”

There were footsteps on the stairs and the bathroom door opened. Felipinho looked up at the new comer, not sure if he should be happy or sad he had been found. He didn’t move, not even when the man crouched down beside him.

“Are you ok?”

Felipinho nodded.

“I have to take you back to Daddy and Rob now.”

Felipinho looked up at the lady. She was crying.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, sweetie,” the lady said, but it sounded like a lie. Maybe Rob was right and she did tell lies, but she wasn’t happy. Why would you tell lies if they didn’t make you happy?

“Do I have to go?” Felipinho asked.

“Yeah,” the lady said. “But don’t worry. You’re going to come and live with me soon. Won’t that be fun?”

“That is enough,” the man said, picking Felipinho up to take him down the stairs.

“I’ll see you soon, ok?” the lady said, following them down the stairs. “I love you.”

Felipinho didn’t say anything when the man strapped him into the back seat of the car. He didn’t even notice that he didn’t have his car seat.

The lady said he was going to come and live with her…

He didn’t know if he wanted to do that.


	35. In which Kimi gives Nico an idea and Felipinho tells lies

He never should have let Hanna take him out. Rob had known this would happen. Things were finally getting somewhere near better. Of course something would go wrong. Something always went wrong. And now she had Felipinho.

He was trying not to think about what Felipe had told him, but it still buzzed around his head. It was before he had even known him, there was no way he could have done anything about it, but he still felt bad. There was still a voice telling him he should have helped.

Felipe should have been able to talk to him. If Felipe couldn’t, how many other people had watered down their stories? How many people had lied to try to get somewhere for their families to sleep? Rob believed everyone who came to the Halfway Houses unconditionally, because he had heard of so many situations he never thought could ever happen, he had long since stopped being surprised by any of them. But if they were all telling him lies, how many of them had done things that were actually _bad_?

Rob shook his head, trying to shake the thought from his mind. The people that sent him the families knew about their circumstances. They wouldn’t be able to tell him lies. Felipe hadn’t been sent to him from anyone. That was why he’d been able to lie. The other stories were true. They had to be.

Felipe had not done anything wrong. Not in Rob’s eyes. He probably could have done things better, but Rob couldn’t be the judge of that. He wasn’t there. What Rob did know was that Felipe loved Felipinho, and there was no way he would have done this if it wasn’t the best for his son. And taking him away from a mad woman who beat the person she was supposed to love seemed like a good move to him.

What the courts said was a different matter, though.

This would go against her. This would go down as kidnapping a child. It had to.

It was hard to think that this was a good thing but, if they found Felipinho, it had to be. She was setting herself up. Add that to what she had done to Felipe and they had nothing to worry about.

No matter how many times he told himself this, Rob didn’t believe it.

Rob was in the park – running out of ideas of places to look and preying he might, just once, have some luck – when his phone rang.

His first thought was to ignore it. Their last conversation hadn’t really gone the way Rob had hoped it would go. So much seemed to have happened since then. Rob didn’t doubt that Kimi had known it was Lewis all along. Before everything with the hit and run had started, Rob had thought him reliable. He wasn’t really someone _nice_ but he got things done. Now, Rob wasn’t so sure.

But if the Finn was looking for Felipinho, he had to answer the phone.

“Hello?”

“I have a five year old here. What would you like me to do with him?”

“You found him?” Rob asked, surprised. Kimi had actually done something he was supposed to do.

“Wondering around looking for Hanna,” Kimi said. “What would you like me to do with him?”

“Wondering around?” Rob asked. “He wasn’t with anyone.”

“No,” Kimi said. “Are you going to answer the question or should I just leave him here?”

“Sorry,” Rob said, quickly, trying to work out how long it was going to take him to get back to the hospital. “Could you drop him off back at the hospital? I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Try to keep a better eye on him,” Kimi said, bored. “Have more important things to do than look for your kid.”

Kimi hung up before Rob could reply.

Keep a better eye on him. Yes. Because Rob should have known better than to let him go to the park with a friend.

He sighed, shoving the phone back in his pocket, and started the walk back to the hospital.

 

They’d been absolutely useless at the hospital, but Nico hadn’t expected any better. It hadn’t calmed him down, being told over and over again that the police were doing all they could, and he came out of the hospital shaking, wishing he could rewind back to when this all started and stop it all then.

If Lewis had never found out about him and Jenson…

It was a tiny mistake. It had even seemed like a good thing, at the time. He had been trying to get the nerve to tell Lewis it was over for months and, suddenly, he didn’t need to. He didn’t need to hide, and sneak about, and lie. Everything was out in the open.

It was supposed to be a fresh start, but Nico doubted he was ever going to get that. It had been stupid to hope.

“Nico?”

It took a couple of attempts for Kimi to grab Nico’s attention. Where the German’s mind went when he was alone, Kimi didn’t know, but he knew from when they were kids that it wasn’t a good place.

“Kimi, what are you doing here?” Nico asked, still trying to bring himself back from his thoughts.

Kimi simply lifted the hand that was holding onto Felipinho’s a little higher. Nico frowned and opened his mouth to ask a question, but Kimi shook his head and he closed it again.

“Any news on Lewis?” Kimi asked.

“Of course not,” Nico said. “The police are useless at the best of times. Have you…?”

“Have been busy,” Kimi said.

“Of course,” Nico muttered, darkly.

Kimi rolled his eyes, but gave no explanation.

“Need to talk to you,” he said, instead. “When this one is back where he belongs.”

“Why do you have him?”

“Does not matter,” Kimi said. “Spoke to Jenson yesterday. He is worried about you. Says you are not well.”

“I don’t know how he expects me to be,” Nico said. “God, sorry. I know. I’m fine.”

“Cannot imagine how you are feeling,” Kimi said, quietly. “Thought I lost Sebastian yesterday. Is not the same things. But we are close. Like you and Lewis were.”

“Are,” Nico corrected him. “He’s still alive.”

“Nico,” Kimi said, but Nico shook his head.

“He is,” he insisted. “Even Toto said so.”

“Ah,” Kimi said, looking down at his feet. He wasn’t sure if he wants to tell Nico about his suspicions just yet. He would only over react and ruin any chance Kimi had of finding out if he was right or not.

“We need to find him,” Nico said. “Whatever’s going on, this is nothing to do with him.”

“He did…” Kimi doesn’t finish the sentence, but nods down to Felipinho, who was on look out for Rob.

“But that doesn’t call for _this_ does it?” Nico asked, and he sounded like he was trying to make Kimi tell him he was right. “This isn’t anything to do with Lewis.”

“Have still got no idea who is doing this?” Kimi asked.

Nico shook his head. “I haven’t done _anything_.”

“Maybe your dad?”

“You really think he’d care enough to do something like this?” Nico scoffed.

“Someone trying to get to your dad?” Kimi suggested.

Nico frowned and looked up at Kimi. The thought hadn’t occurred to him before.

“Maybe,” he said, quietly, trying to put together some kind of plan in his head. “Maybe. I need to phone Jenson. I’ll talk to you later, ok?”

“Nico,” Kimi called after him as the German hurried towards the line of cabs, but Nico didn’t stop.

Kimi sighed. He guessed he could do that later.

 

“Kimi, thank you so much. I am so sorry.”

Rob scooped Felipinho into his arms, holding him tightly.

“What have I told you? What did I tell you? Stay with Hanna.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Felipinho said, his bottom lip wobbling again, but this time Rob wasn’t going to fall for it. “I was there and then Hanna was gone.”

Kimi had told him what to say when they were in the car. It would get him into less trouble, and the lady too, Kimi had promised. Lying was naughty, Felipinho had told him, but Kimi had made him promise to say nothing about the lady.

“It’s ok,” Rob said, quietly. “Thank you, again.”

“Should maybe put him on a leash or something,” Kimi said. “Well, will see you later.”

“Wait,” Rob said. “The other day. Toto and Lewis. It wasn’t important, was it? It’s not anything to do with all this.”

Kimi watched Rob’s face as he thought about his answer. He honestly didn’t know if it was important or not, but it seemed that way to him. But to tell Rob this, to tell _anyone_ this...

“I do not know,” Kimi said. “Will see later.”

Without giving any more of an answer, Kimi turned and left.

Rob let out a sigh of relief, turning to go back into the hospital. He wondered if he’d been gone too long or if he could hide all this from Felipe.

“Alright,” Rob said, putting Felipinho down. “We probably shouldn’t tell Daddy about this…”


	36. In which Nico begins to understand, Jenson makes tea, and Dan and Dan see something they weren't expecting...

Nico was sure he shouldn’t have been this nervous.

He sat in silence, watching the clock whilst he waited, the hands getting slower and slower with each second, he was sure.

Jenson was bringing his father home when he finished work. Thankfully, he’d been unable to get rid of him. It surprised Nico a little. He knew his father didn’t care, and the prolonged interest was uncharacteristic.

It was almost five when the door finally opened and Nico jumped up.

“Nico?”

“I’m in here.”

He didn’t go to greet them in the hall, waiting for Jenson to lead the man who claimed to be his father into the living room. Jenson smiled weakly, stepping aside to let Nico see Keke. Nobody said anything for a long time.

“You look well,” Keke said, eventually.

“What would you know?” Nico asked, sitting back down. Jenson sat beside him.

“You look different, Nico,” Keke said. “A lot older than I remember.”

“You haven’t seen me for a long time,” Nico reminded him. There was no emotion in his voice. He was simply stating the facts.

Keke didn’t answer straight away, and they fell back into the silence. The humming of the electrics and the constant ticking of the clock swallowed the silence. Jenson counted the ticks, waiting for someone else to speak. He hadn’t known what to expect when Nico had phoned him with the request. This hadn’t crossed his mind.

“Would anyone like any tea?” he asked, after the silence had become suffiently awkward.

“No,” Nico said, at the exact same time Keke said “Yes.”

Jenson sighed and stood. “The same as at the shop?”

Keke nodded and watched as Jenson went into the kitchen.

“You’ve got him trained well,” he said, smiling and trying to make his son smile too. Nico’s face remained emotionless.

“He cares about me,” he said.

“That much is clear,” Keke said. He moved across the room and took Jenson’s seat. There was still no reaction from Nico. It was scaring him a little. “When did things start with you and Jenson? I always thought you were with the Hamilton boy.”

“His name was Lewis,” Nico said. _Is_ , his name _is_ Lewis. “I don’t expect you to have any idea what’s going on in my life.”

“That’s not fair, Nico.”

“Isn’t it?” Nico asked, and there’s the first sign of emotion in his voice when it raises a fraction of a decibel. “Why isn’t it? You’ve never had an _interest_ in it. Why would you know what’s going on?”

“I’m your father,” Keke reminded him, or reminded himself, Nico wasn’t sure. “I care about you.”

“Toto was more of a father to me than you ever were,” Nico said. “If you cared about me, you would have helped me when Kimi Räikkönen was trying to kill me.”

“I couldn’t get involved in that, Nico. It wasn’t my place.”

“Wasn’t your place?” Nico said, slowly. “I am your son. I am one of those people you are supposed to care about. Räikkönen nearly killed me and it wasn’t your place to help?”

“It was a business matter,” Keke said, making no attempt to apologise for his absence. “Your business. I was not to interfere there.”

Nico stared at him, his mouth open a little because he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing.

“Business?”

“Wasn’t it?” Keke said. And it was. The entire thing had been about business.

“Do you not hear what I am saying, or do you just not understand?”

“If I had interfered, other people would have too,” Keke said. “Elevency would have been a free for all, with people poking their noses in from all over the place. Would that have been any better?”

Nico fell silent again.

He hadn’t thought of that.

Elevency was a popular place. There was always someone with their eye on it. It was surprising nobody had tried to take the city away from them during the war. And if Keke had become involved, then the others would have followed, most of them with other goals in mind.

Nico probably should have thought of that.

“Here you are,” Jenson said, returning with a tray of mugs. He gave one to Keke and balanced the rest of the tray on the arm of the sofa beside Nico. He’d made Nico a drink and the German took the mug with a small smile as a thank you.

“Why didn’t you come and explain that?” Nico asked.

“I thought you would have understood.”

“I understand nothing about this,” Nico said. “I know nothing about this business. Kevin does most of the work now and Kimi did before. I understand _now_. It makes sense _now_.”

“Am sorry,” Keke said, quietly, looking down at the mug in his hands. “I did not realise.”

“It’s ok,” Nico said. “Neither did I.”

“I did try to send help,” Keke said. “There was Toto…”

Nico nodded. “Toto helped.”

Jenson cringed, remembering what Kimi had said the day before.

“But now… now you can help?” Nico asked.

“Maybe you should tell me what’s going on. And I’ll see what I can do.”

 

It was dark by the time Daniil pulled the rental car off of the motorway and into Elevency. The city, that looked bad enough in the day, looked worse at night. He’d noticed the increase in the number of people hanging around on street corners and in parks since everything had kicked off after the hit and run. He didn’t know what it had been like during the war, but he knew what it was like back home during similar times and the increase didn’t make him feel good.

Dan had been drifting in and out of sleep the entire journey home. For the first half an hour, Daniil had been trying to keep him awake, but he’d soon given up when he realised how exhausted his friend was, and it was probably better to let him sleep.

As they pulled up at another traffic light, the red glare making the entire street glow, Dan blinked back into wakefulness again and frowned.

“We’re nearly home?” he asked, vaguely recognising some of the shops on the street.

“Nearly home,” Daniil confirmed.

“How long was I asleep for this time?” Dan asked.

“A little less than half an hour,” Daniil said. “Is ok.”

“Sorry about this,” Dan said, stretching as well as he could in the crampt car and his legs not behaving the way he wanted them to. He shifted to a more comfortable position in his chair and peered out of the window whist they waited for the traffic light to change.

The street was emptier than the others Daniil had seen that night. Two men stood a little way up the road, but the street light was behind them and neither man in the car could see who they were.

“It’s ok,” Daniil said, again. “Did not go out intending to get hit by a car.”

Dan nodded, his eyes on the pair of men who seemed to be talking.

The light turned green and Daniil pulled away. As they approached, the car head lights swept over the men and, though they shrank away from the light, Dan was able to make out their faces. He felt himself go stiff, unable to take his eyes away from them. Daniil had seen too, but wasn’t stupid enough to stop the car there and then.

“Was that who I think it was?” he asked, his voice low.

Dan nodded, the words he needed to use stuck in his throat.

“Who- who do you think it was?” he asked, hoping Daniil had a better answer than he did, because this didn’t make any sense.

“Lewis Hamilton.”

No. No, Daniil did not have a better answer than Dan did.


	37. In which Dan and Dan have to explain and Felipinho isn't poorly.

“What exactly did you see?” Kimi asked.

Dan and Daniil both sat on the sofa, looking up at the Finn. He leaned against the back wall, his arms crossed, waiting for an answer. It had been Daniil’s idea to phone him. Neither of them knew about the attack at the hospital, but he was pretty sure Lewis was supposed to be at hospital. And he knew it was the Brit behind the hit and run. Phoning Kimi had seemed like the best thing to do. Now, he wasn’t so sure.

Kimi didn’t have time for games. Sebastian needed him right now. Emily was fine, but Sebastian, as always, was blaming himself.

“There were two men talking,” Dan said. “One of them was Lewis.”

“Hamilton?” Kimi asked.

Dan nodded.

“And the other man?” Kimi asked.

“I didn’t see his face,” Dan said.

“No,” Daniil added.

“And Lewis he was…?”

“He looked well,” Dan said. “He didn’t look like he needed to be in hospital.”

“And you are sure it was Lewis?” Kimi asked.

“As sure as I can be,” Dan said.

“It was him,” Daniil said.

“Right,” Kimi said. “And where was this?”

Daniil gave Kimi the street name. It was on the outskirts of town and rarely used. Daniil had only been driving there because he was trying to avoid traffic from the main road coming into the city. Kimi recognised the street name. It was a residential street, if he remembered correctly, but most of the houses there were falling apart and occupied by squatters. It certainly didn’t sound like the kind of place Lewis would be hiding.

I did, however, sound like the kind of place someone might take him.

“Alright,” Kimi said. “I will go and see what’s going on.”

“How is Seb?” Dan asked, before Kimi could leave.

Kimi paused.

Dan and Seb, together.

The thought he’d been trying to forget kept cropping up and, even though he knew it was completely irrational, he couldn’t help but get a little angry at it. His hands balled in his pockets as he tried to keep a straight face. That was in the past. It hadn’t mattered then and it didn’t matter now.

“He is fine,” Kimi said. “As fine as he ever is.”

“I hope he works things out with Hanna,” Dan said.

“So do I,” Kimi said, leaving before Dan could say anything else.

 

It was morning. Felipinho sat on his bed, watching the clock on the wall. He didn’t know what the time was, but he knew what the clock looked like when he was allowed to get up. It was past that. But he still didn’t want to get up.

Downstairs, he could hear Rob talking with somebody, probably Valtteri. Or maybe Hanna. Maybe Hanna had come to tell Rob that she didn’t want him to come and play with Emily anymore. Maybe Hanna had come to tell Rob he was telling lies. Then he’d be in trouble.

He didn’t want to go downstairs. He didn’t want to be in trouble.

Rob was enjoying the unusual peaceful morning. One of the people staying in the houses had called in to tell him about a job he’d managed to get. His excitement was contagious and, even after he’d gone, Rob was grinning to himself. Some days he needed to be reminded of why he did this.

In celebration of his good mood, he was making pancakes. All doubt he’d had the previous day of people feeding him lies in order to get a house was gone. So what if they were, anyway? They were trying to do what was right for their families, and that was what he was trying to do too. He had nothing to worry about.

“You are in a good mood,” Valtteri observed when he came in.

“I certainly am,” Rob said. “Pancake?”

“Have already eaten,” Valtteri said, sitting at the table. He didn’t start work for another half an hour, but Sunday bus times meant he had to come in early.

“More for us then,” Rob said.

“Where is Felipinho?”

“Upstairs,” Rob said. He’d been in and checked on him when he woke up, making sure he was still there, but the child had been curled up in bed, asleep.

“Is a little late for him, no?”

Rob stopped and looked at the time. It was pretty late.

“You don’t think he’s ill, do you?” Rob asked.

That was the last thing he needed right now. He wasn’t very good at dealing with sick. The problem had been one of his leading reasons to hire someone else to do the cleaning in the houses, because he couldn’t stomach the state some places were left in.

Valtteri shrugged. “Is just strange he isn’t down yet.”

“Could you watch these a second?” Rob asked, nodding to the pancakes.

Valtteri sighed and tried to hide his smile as Rob darted out of the kitchen and up the stairs. The kid had Rob wrapped around his little finger. If he was honest, he could see why.

The door to Felipinho’s room opened and the five year old hurried to get back under the covers and pretend he was still asleep, but it wasn’t quick enough for Rob not to see. Rob almost laughed as he shut the door.

“I know you’re awake,” he said, sitting on the end of Felipinho’s bed. “Are you poorly?”

“Yeah,” Felipinho said, his eyes squeezed shut. Rob wouldn’t tell him off if he was poorly.

“Right,” Rob said, slowly. He placed a hand against the child’s forehead, but it didn’t feel warm. There was no reason for him to be faking illness though. It didn’t make much sense, but Rob was sure that wasn’t something pancakes couldn’t fix. “Don’t you want to come down and have breakfast?”

“Not hungry,” Felipinho said.

“Not even for pancakes?” Rob asked.

Felipinho shook his head.

“Wow, Pea, you really are ill,” Rob said. “Come out from under there and I’ll see if I can find out what’s wrong.”

Reluctantly, Felipinho wriggled out from under the blankets, rubbing his eyes. Rob pulled him onto his lap, testing his chest to see if that was warm, but he seemed fine.

“Right,” Rob said. “I’m going to go and get you some medicine.”

“Medicine?”

“You have to take medicine if you’re poorly,” Rob said. He put Felipinho back in the bed and stood. “Unless you’re not really poorly?”

Felipinho thought for a moment, He didn’t want the medicine. He’d had medicine before and it didn’t taste nice and it didn’t go away for a very, very long time. He didn’t like that. And, one time, Emily had wanted some medicine because he was having some and because she was only a baby and she didn’t understand things like medicine and she wasn’t allowed any because she wasn’t poorly. He wasn’t _really_ poorly, so he probably shouldn’t have the medicine.

But then Rob would tell him off.

“Maybe I’m only a little bit poorly,” he said, slowly.

“Ah,” Rob said, grinning. “How poorly is a little bit?”

“My tummy hurts a little,” Felipinho said. That wasn’t even a lie. It did hurt a little.

“Maybe that’s because you’re hungry, hmmm?” Rob suggested. “Pea, what’s really the matter? Why don’t you want to come downstairs?”

“Because I’m poorly,” Felipinho insisted, annoyed.

“Telling lies won’t make things better, Pea, you know that,” Rob said. “I know you’re not poorly, so what’s the matter.”

The child’s bottom lip began to wobble again, but Rob wasn’t giving in this time. Tears swam in his eyes and there was clearly something wrong.

“Is Emily going to be ok?” he asked.

“What?”

“Because Hanna took her to hospital?” Felipinho said. “She fell in the pond and it was my fault. I was supposed to be looking after her but I went to get more bread and she fell in and now she’s in hospital like Daddy and Hanna is angry at me and you are angry at me and I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.”

Big, fat tears rolled down his cheeks and he squirmed further into the blankets whilst Rob stared at him.

“Pea, nobody’s angry at you.”

“Yeah, because it’s my fault Emily fell in the pond and it was my fault Daddy got hit by the car and I should just stay in bed and then nobody will be hurt anymore.”

Felipinho angrily threw the covers over his head and squirmed down further, curling up and trying to make himself as small as possible. Rob continued to stare at him, not really able to believe what he was hearing, then pulled the covers back from over his head and was met by a very grumpy five year old.

“It’s not your fault Emily fell in the pond, Pea,” he said. “And it isn’t your fault Daddy got hit by the car, either. Nobody’s angry at you.”

He wiped the tears from the child’s eyes with his thumb and pulled him back onto his lap.

“Isn’t Hanna angry at me?” Felipinho said, quietly. “That’s why she came round.”

“Hanna hasn’t come round,” Rob said, quietly, rocking slightly with Felipinho on his lap, trying to stop the tears. “She’s not going to be angry at you, I promise. Emily is going to be ok. She didn’t even have to stay at hospital.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Rob said. “Now, do you want to come down and have some pancakes?”

“Maybe a little,” Felipinho said, quietly.

Even though he wasn’t a baby, Rob carried him down the stairs and into the kitchen to have pancakes. Felipinho didn’t mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and feedback always appreciated. :)


	38. In which Sebastian gets a visitor and Nico cleans up.

There was no sign of anything unusual in Backfor, the area Dan and Daniil were supposed to have seen Lewis. Kimi had been out most of the night looking around, but there was nothing worth investigating there. The two of them probably saw something else. Idiots.

Sebastian was still in bed when he got back. He phoned to let him know he wouldn’t be back until late, but he hadn’t been expecting to be out that late. A little annoyed at the wasted night, Kimi stripped and climbed into bed beside Sebastian. He’d get some sleep and then decide what to do next. It might be a good idea to have a look again in the morning, to see if there was anything he had missed…

About five minutes later, Kimi’s snoring woke Sebastian. It was late enough in the morning for it to be considered morning, and Sebastian lay there for a while, just listening. This would be every morning from now on. This would be his life from now on. The thought made him smile.

The text from Hanna he’d gotten the night before was still displayed on his phone.

 _Emily’s fine, no thanks to you. Hope you enjoy your night_.

He didn’t understand how this was his fault, not if everything else that had happened wasn’t his fault. It had been Hanna who started the argument and it had been Hanna who had taken her out of the pushchair.

For once, this wasn’t his fault.

He hadn’t told her that though. He’d told her he was sorry. He’d told her he was glad she was ok and that it would never happen again. Because what else could he say?

Still annoyed at her, he deleted the text and climbed out of bed. What was there to do now? He had no idea what time Kimi had gotten in but, right now, he looked dead to the world, and Sebastian didn’t want to be the one to ruin his sleep.

Coffee seemed like a good place to start.

Navigating Kimi’s living room in the dark was not the easiest thing to do. Sebastian wondered how the Finn ever managed to do so without falling over, being unable to walk in perfect conditions anyway.

Slowly, carefully, he shuffled through the mess and managed to make his way into the kitchen without tripping over and waking Kimi up. He flicked the light on in the kitchen, it blinking into life when it decided if it wanted to turn on or not. Sebastian tutted as he switched the kettle on, adding that to the list of things he was going to have to sort out.

“Good morning.”

The tin of sugar dropped to the floor with a clatter as Sebastian jumped and spun around, not expecting to find another voice here. He didn’t recognise the man he was greeted by but, judging by the smirk on his face, he wasn’t supposed to be there.

 

Nico woke late. With his eyes still closed, he stretched experimentally and found himself in bed, which was a good thing. The space beside him was empty, which was also probably a good thing. When he opened his eyes, they found the clock on the wall first. It was mid-morning. He vaguely remembered Jenson leaving the night before, saying he had work in the morning, but he’d drunk quite a bit by this point. Why he’d started drinking, he couldn’t remember.

He was still a bit tipsy, he found, when he got out of bed. That explained the lack of hang over.

When Nico eventually made it down the stairs, he was expecting to find his father either asleep on the sofa where he’d been left the night before, or already up and busy. But he found neither of these things. Keke was gone.

With a small, hopeless sigh, Nico went into the kitchen to start the process of sobering up.

He should have known it would be too much to expect his father to stick around. It was a miracle alone that he’d bothered to show up in the first place. Nico couldn’t believe he’d fallen for the rubbish he’d been told. All that about getting the attention of the other people in the area. It was all just a bad excuse. He couldn’t believe he’d fallen for it.

And now he was alone again.

He considered phoning Jenson, but dragging him away from the coffee shop again when he’d already wasted so much of the Brit’s time was selfish and he wasn’t going to do that again.

There was Kevin, but as he was the only person on Nico’s side actually doing anything, he didn’t really want to disturb him. It was probably better he didn’t know how weak Nico really was, either, or else he’d have somebody else trying to take his business from him.

Who did that leave?

Nico scrolled through his short list of contacts, but most of the people on there were business contacts, not people he could really call upon for comfort. His thumb hovered over Lewis’ name for a moment. He knew the phone it connected to was in a draw upstairs, and he knew that, even if Lewis was awake and could answer the phone, he wouldn’t get any comfort from him, but something still made him pause.

Before he could let himself do anything stupid, Nico scrolled past the name.

There was always Toto, but he was pretty sure he was becoming annoyed now at how often Nico needed him, and the German scrolled past his name too.

There was nobody else.

He put the phone down and took his coffee into the living room, looking over the mess he’d left from the night before. There were half a dozen empty beer bottles on the coffee table and a half-finished bottle of vodka. He wasn’t entirely sure how much he’d drunk and how much of it was his father’s, but it was the beginning of an explanation as to why he was still drunk.

He sighed, drinking his coffee whist it was still too hot, and began to clean up. He was going to have to talk to Kevin at some point, he thought as he cleared away the beer bottles. He’d not done anything of any use for weeks and it would be interesting to know what his second in command had done. There was a chance they were closer to finding out what was going on than he thought. It was a slim chance, but there was a chance.

It was only when he was putting the vodka away that he noticed he had a missed call. From his father.

Nico sighed. What would this be? He didn’t expect an apology, but he couldn’t think of anything else that needed to be said.

There was a voicemail left as well and, curious to see what his father could possibly say this time, Nico answered it.

“Sorry I had to leave whilst you were asleep. I had an idea and could not risk losing the chance to see it through. There is a warehouse around the corner from your friend’s coffee shop. I need you, Nico.”

 

“Hanna, come in.”

Felipinho’s head shot up.

Hanna and Rob carried the pushchair up the steps and into the house.

“I’m really sorry about yesterday, Rob,” Hanna said. “I don’t know how I could have missed him.”

“It’s ok,” Rob insisted. “He’s safe. Emily’s safe. That’s all that matters.”

“But he might not have been,” Hanna said. “She could have taken him and I am so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Rob insisted, pulling Hanna into a hug. “How are things, anyway?”

Hanna shook her head and unstrapped Emily from the pushchair. “Ok, I suppose. Seb’s stuff’s still at the house. I don’t know what to do with it. I can’t take it to Kimi’s. I can’t go back there.”

“I could go, if you like,” Rob said. “Hanna, you do not have to do this on your own.”

Felipinho stood, watching through the crack between the door and the wall. He didn’t notice Valtteri watching him when the Finn came in to ask Rob something and jumped when he felt the hand on his shoulder.

“Are you ok?”

Felipinho nodded, quickly, stepping back from the door.

“Why don’t you go in and say hello?”

Felipinho shook his head and sat back down with his colouring book. He glanced back at the door, wondering if Rob was going to bring Hanna and Emily in, then found the blue felt tip and carried on colouring the sky.

Valtteri thought about trying to find out what was wrong, but thought better of it. He’d already had enough interaction for one day.

“I’m really sorry,” Hanna said. “You’ve got enough to deal with, I know. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Rob insisted. “Do you want a cup of tea?”

He lead Hanna and Emily into the living room, not noticing Valtteri slip past into the hallway, before going into the kitchen to make tea.

Hanna smiled down at Felipinho, but the child wasn’t looking at her. Emily, fully recovered from her swimming trip, grinned at the sight of the felt tips, grabbing a yellow one and immediately trying to put it into her mouth.

“Ah ah,” Hanna said, jumping forward to take the pen from her daughter. “I think you’re a little too little for those.”

Emily gurgled, still trying to grab the felt tip.

“Maybe Felipinho has some colouring pencils you can use?” Hanna asked, cocking her head to see if Felipinho was listening. Rob was always telling her he had selective hearing but she didn’t see it.

Felipinho sighed and looked down at his colouring book, then at Emily doing her best to eat the felt tips.

“Are you angry at me?” he asked.

“Why would I be angry at you?” Hanna asked. “It’s not your fault Emily can’t have felt tips. I bet you couldn’t have felt tips when you were little.”

Felipinho sighed. Grown-ups didn’t understand.

“But it was my fault Emily fell in the pond,” he said. He knew Rob had told him it wasn’t but Rob wasn’t there so he couldn’t know. And sometimes Rob told him things that weren’t true to make him feel happy.

“That wasn’t your fault,” Hanna said. “You’re only little too. I should have been watching, or Hanna’s daddy. We weren’t watching and being grown-ups. That’s not your fault. Don’t worry.”

Felipinho looked down at the colouring book again. Maybe Hanna was right. He wasn’t that little, not like Emily, but he still wasn’t big enough to make breakfast by himself and he wasn’t a grown-up either.

“I have some pencils upstairs,” he said, quietly. “And Emily is a little too little to colour inside the lines, so she can have my old colouring book.”

“That’s a good idea,” Hanna said, quietly, sitting back to let the five year old jump up and run up the stairs to get the things.

Rob smiled weakly as he handed Hanna the mug of tea, having heard the entire thing.

“Thank you.”


	39. In which Nico finds Sebasian and Sebastian finds out the truth

Curiosity got the better of him.

Once Nico was sober enough, he went down the warehouse his father had mentioned in the message. He’d been there a couple of times. It wasn’t used commercially anymore, but for meetings were a certain level of fear was required to get what was wanted. Nico hadn’t been here since the ‘war’ though. He’d had no use for it.

When he’d looked for the keys back at the house, he’d found they’d been taken, and was unsurprised when he found the door to the warehouse unlocked. Whatever it was that was going on, his father had either planned this well or hadn’t thought it through at all. Nico wasn’t sure which was worse.

“Hello?” he called into the gloom. The lights were on inside, by they were dim and he couldn’t see much.

“In here!”

Nico couldn’t really tell what room ‘here’ was, but he headed in the direction of the call, hoping this wasn’t going to cause even more trouble. He wasn’t holding his breath, though.

Once into the next room, it was obvious where ‘here’ was, the light spilling out of one of the side rooms much brighter than anywhere else. Taking a deep breath, Nico headed towards it.

He stopped in the doorway.

This was definitely going to make things worse.

“What are you doing?”

Sebastian was curled up on the floor, a blind fold over his eyes, gag in mouth, and a gash on his forehead. Keke stood over him, the look on his face saying he wasn’t expecting that kind of reaction from his son.

“Is he alive?”

“Of course he is alive,” Keke scoffed.

Nico knelt down beside Sebastian, checking his pulse and watching his breathing. Sebastian flinched away from the touch, and Nico didn’t blame him, but he seemed to be ok. Scared, but ok.

“What are you doing?” Nico asked Keke again.

“After what Räikkönen did to Lewis, he deserves a taste of his own medicine, doesn’t he?”

“ _He_ didn’t do that,” Nico cried, even if he didn’t completely believe that anymore. “And even if he did, that had nothing to do with Sebastian.”

How Keke had managed to do this as long as he did without getting himself killed, Nico didn’t know, but there was no way he would be able to get away with this now.

“Doesn’t matter,” Keke said. “He’s involved with Räikkönen.”

Sebastian tried to say something, muffled by the gag, but both Rosberg’s ignored him.

“He’s got a kid,” Nico said. “You can’t just…”

“Can’t just what?” Keke asked. “You asked me for help. It’s no wonder any of this has happened if you let Räikkönen walk all over you.”

“I don’t let _anyone_ walk over me,” Nico snapped, even though he knew that wasn’t true. “You cannot do this.”

He pulled Sebastian up so he was sitting and took the gag from out of his mouth. Sebastian spluttered, struggling to find his breath.

“Rosberg?” He was still shaking, and still disorientated with the blindfold over his eyes but Nico knew better than to remove that yet.

“It’s ok,” he insisted. It wasn’t. Räikkönen was going to kill him when he found out. Nico was pretty sure the only reason the truce had gone through in the first place was because Kimi was trying to protect his friend. “You’re not going to be hurt.”

Enough innocent people had already been hurt because of him and he was not going to let his father continue that streak.

“What are you going to do then?” Sebastian asked, still blindfolded and struggling to pull his hands out of the bonds.

“Yes, Nico?” Keke said. “What are you going to do?”

“We go to Räikkönen and we explain,” Nico said. He knew that wasn’t a very good plan but he couldn’t really think of a much better one. “We explain there was a mix up. We explain that _you_ made a mistake.”

“ _I_ made a mistake,” Keke scoffed. “You asked for my help, Nico. You spent the entire night crying and drinking and asking for my help. I give it, and now you do not want it. Have always been the same, Nico, thinking you know better when you really know nothing at all.”

“I do not have to listen to this,” Nico said, standing and pulling Sebastian up with him. Sebastian wobbled slightly, the hit to the head making him dizzy even behind the blindfold, and he fell into Nico. “It’s ok,” Nico said, quietly. “I’ll take you home, alright.”

Keke watched him go, but didn’t protest, knowing it was no use. He’d known all along that Nico would be nothing like him. He’d known Nico would let people walk over him, let the Rosberg name lose all of the meaning it had once had.

He’d always known this.

But he still handed things over to Nico. And he was not going to let his son fail.

 

“How much is there?” Rob asked as he followed Hanna into her house. He was always astounded by how tidy things were, but was pretty sure that wouldn’t be the case once Emily was a little older.

“Everything, I suppose,” Hanna said quietly. “He was supposed to come and pick it up yesterday, but then Emily and Felipinho and everything kind of got pushed aside.”

The children were told to wait in the hallway as Rob and Hanna went up the stairs to collect the clothes Hanna had already packed away.

“I don’t know how it happened,” Hanna said, quietly. “I have known for ages, Rob. I know him. But I didn’t want to believe it. I couldn’t believe it. But it’s happened. I thought we would be together forever. That makes me sound so stupid and naïve, doesn’t it? But I did. I loved him. I still do.”

“Sometimes good things happen from things like this,” Rob said, quietly. He looked down at how little stuff Sebastian had, barely more than he’d had when he showed up at the Halfway Houses. He realised again how easily it would be for someone like Sebastian to slip away from everything.

Had it been that easy when Felipe left?

“I don’t see how,” Hanna said, quietly, snapping Rob back to reality.

“You won’t yet,” Rob said, picking up the bags and leading Hanna back down the stairs. “But one day you’ll look back on this and realise I’m right. You’ll be happy, and Emily will be happy, and you’ll wonder why you were ever worried in the first place.”

Hanna laughed weakly, trying to take the bags from Rob once they were at the bottom of the stairs but he wouldn’t let her.

“I do not believe you,” she said, quietly.

“Yeah, you never do,” Rob said. “That doesn’t stop me being right. Come on. Are you coming with me to Kimi’s?”

“I… I don’t know,” Hanna said, quietly. “I don’t want to cause trouble. I wasn’t the nicest person yesterday.”

“You were stressed and angry yesterday,” Rob said. “There’s always time for an apology if you feel you need one.”

Hanna sighed. He was right. Again. One day, she was going to prove him wrong and he would be the one sighing submissively. A little annoyed at that, she took one of the bags from Rob and followed him to pack the car.

 

“I’m sorry,” Nico said, quietly. They were in his car, a few streets away from the warehouse and Nico was struggling to untie the bonds around Sebastian’s wrists. “I didn’t even want him here. He over reacts. I’ve never liked the way he does things and I never wanted this to happen.”

“I thought he was going to kill me.”

“He wouldn’t do that,” Nico said, but he wasn’t entirely certain that was the truth. He’d known his father to do worse than that. He’d _seen_ it happen once or twice. That was one of the major contributing factors as to why he hadn’t wanted to be part of this business. And one of the reasons why he had fort hard to be part of it when he realised he could change that.

“What’s going on?” Sebastian asked. “Why… why would you want to…?”

“I don’t,” Nico insisted. “I never wanted this to happen. He got the wrong idea. He thinks it’s Räikkönen who has Lewis.”

“ _Has_?” Sebastian asked. “What do you mean _has_? I thought he was at hospital.”

“You mean Kimi hasn’t told you?” Nico asked, his hands stilling over the knot he was trying to undo.

“Hasn’t told me what?” Sebastian asked.

“I… I shouldn’t be the one to tell you,” Nico said, quickly, hands fumbling with the knot again.

“I need to know,” Sebastian said. “If it’s why I’m getting kidnapped and beaten up, I need to know about it. Tell me what is going on.”

Nico sighed, finally managing to get the knot lose and undid the bond. “Lewis has gone missing. Someone attacked him at the hospital and took him. We don’t know where or who. Dad thinks it’s Kimi.”

“When was this?” Sebastian asked.

“Friday,” Nico said.

“Friday?” That seems like ages ago now. Kimi hadn’t told him something this important. He would have to know about it, though. Kimi knew about everything. They’d spoken about Lewis. He’d purposefully not told him anything. “Does Kimi know?”

“Yes,” Nico said, quietly.

Why hadn’t he told him? Why hadn’t he told him something that was clearly important?

A small voice in Sebastian’s head, the sane voice, the sensible voice, tried to tell him that he’d been so busy with Hanna, that Kimi hadn’t wanted to disturb him with anything else, but Sebastian knew that wasn’t true. Kimi was treating him like a child that needed looking after. Maybe that was because he _was_. He didn’t know.

What he did know was that he was annoyed. He needed to speak to Kimi.

By the time Sebastian pulled himself back to reality, Nico was driving again. His stomach twisted a little when he realised he had no idea where they were going. He glanced over at Nico. Though he had been sure when Nico had been leading him to the car that they were going somewhere safe, now he wasn’t so sure. Hadn’t Kimi been worried about Nico coming after him?

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“I am taking you home,” Nico said. “I’m not some maniac, or a void without human emotions.”

Nico knew the streets well, and was fairly sure he knew where Sebastian, Hanna, and Emily lived.

It was a couple of minutes before Sebastian realised where they were heading and a couple more to realise why. Nico didn’t know about him and Kimi. They hadn’t told anyone. It wasn’t a secret anymore but there was no need to broadcast it to the world, especially when everything was going on with Lewis.

“I… um, I don’t live here anymore,” Sebastian said as they turned onto the street of the home he had built with Hanna and Emily. He wondered if they were in. He still needed to collect his things and now was as good a time as any for that. But he didn’t want to go in alone. He didn’t want to face her alone after the day before.

“Where do you live?” Nico asked.

“I, um…” Sebastian wasn’t sure if he should be the one saying this. Would Kimi mind? “I’m living with Kimi,” he said, so quietly he could barely hear himself.

“Oh,” Nico said, continuing past the house and onto the next street. Then he realised what Sebastian had said. “Why are you living with Kimi?”

“We’re…um…”Sebastian began. He suddenly really didn’t want to be there. He should have gotten out at the house that used to be his and walked back to Kimi’s. “We’re together.”


	40. In which Sebastian gets the wrong end of the stick and Felipinho lets something slip...

Hanna waited in the car whilst Rob knocked quickly on the front door, stepping back a little to wait for the answer. He glanced back at the car, at Hanna watching him and the kids in the back seat laughing at noises on one of Emily’s toys.

After five minutes, there was no answer at the door, and Rob knocked again. Maybe they hadn’t heard the first time.

There was still nothing. A little annoyed, Rob hurried back down the steps as Hanna got out of the car.

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t think they’re in,” Rob said. “What do you want to do? We could come back later, if you like.”

Hanna shook her head. If she didn’t do this now, she wasn’t going to be able to do it at all.

Rob sighed. “Then what do you want to do?”

“I don’t know,” Hanna said, quietly. “We could leave it here?”

Leaving it outside wouldn’t be that much of a problem, Hanna thought. Even if Sebastian had owned anything worth stealing, nobody would dare take anything that was left outside Kimi Räikkönen’s door. It wouldn’t be a problem. But it would also be the coward’s way out.

Rob took Hanna’s hand with a small smile. “You’re going to have to speak to him again, you know, no matter what you do now.”

“I know but,” Hanna sighed, looking down at the hand Rob was holding. “I don’t know.”

Another car pulled onto the quiet street, but neither of them turned to it.

Sebastian stumbled out of the car, still dizzy from the hit to the head, and swayed a little. Nico rushed out to catch him.

“I’m fine,” Sebastian insisted, leaning on a garden wall, even though that obviously wasn’t the case.

“Sebastian, let me…”

“I’m fine,” Sebastian said, shrugging Nico away.

He looked up and noticed Hanna and Rob. Noticed them holding hands.

He shouldn’t have felt as sick as he did. They weren’t together anymore. Hanna could do whatever she liked.

But he was right.

He’d known all along and he’d been right.

“You don’t waste time, do you?” he snapped, stumbling up the street.

Both Hanna and Rob turned to him almost simultaneously and if he didn’t want to throw up he would have laughed.

“You go on about how upset you are, but you’ve been waiting for this, haven’t you,” Sebastian laughed. “Waiting for me to leave you. Because you couldn’t be the one to leave me. What a horrible, awful person that would make you. Leaving the mad man to go to some rich idiot. But when it’s the mad man leaving you, you get to have the moral high ground _and_ do whatever you like.”

“Sebastian?” Rob asked, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“It would just be nice if you could do it somewhere that wasn’t right in front of where I live,” Sebastian said. He stumbled a little and Nico jumped forward to stop him falling over.

“Seb, what happened?” Hanna asked, rushing to him when she noticed the blood on his head. He shrugged her away though.

“I always knew you had a thing for him,” Sebastian said standing by himself. “It has been obvious from the start, I just thought you would wait a little bit, make yourself even more of the victim here when all I did was fall in love.”

“You think…” Rob said. “You think… me?”

He laughed a little, but noticed it only made Sebastian angrier and stopped.

“I’m not going out with Hanna, Sebastian,” he said.

Sebastian scoffed, falling into a garden wall. This time he let Nico help him up, but still wouldn’t let Hanna touch him.

“Seb, you need to go to hospital,” Hanna said.

“I don’t _need_ to do anything,” Sebastian said. “Why don’t you run off with your boyfriend, Hanna? You don’t have to give a fuck anymore.”

“Rob’s _gay_ , Seb,” Hanna snapped. “Stop being an idiot. You need to go to hospital. You can’t walk.”

Sebastian stopped, leaning against the wall, and frowned. He looked between Rob and Hanna, then at the car where Felipinho and Emily were watch him. Something fell into place.

“Oh,” he said, quietly, before dropping to the floor.

 

“Kimi why won’t you answer the fucking phone,” Hanna hissed, jabbing at the phone again.

“Ummmmm, that’s a naughty word,” Felipinho said.

“Not now, Pea,” Rob said, following Nico’s car far too closely to be considered safe.

“But…”

“I said not now, Pea.”

“What if he did something to himself, Rob,” Hanna said through gritted teeth. She could barely see through the tears in her eyes as she tried the phone again. “What if he did something because of me?”

“Hanna, you haven’t done anything,” Rob insisted, tapping Hanna’s arm in what he hoped was a comforting manor. “He won’t have done this to himself. It’ll have been an accident. It’s ok.”

“I told him it was his fault Felipinho went missing yesterday,” Hanna said, trying to stop herself from crying in front of the children.

“Oh, Hanna,” Rob sighed. “Come on, it won’t have been anything to do with that. It’ll have been an accident.”

“You think? You know what he’s like, Rob. I’m such an idiot.”

“Rob?” Felipinho asked, quietly.

“Not now, Pea,” Rob said again, slamming on the breaks as he came to a red light.

“Is it my fault?” Felipinho asked.

Hanna stopped shaking for a moment and turned around to look at the children on the back seat. Emily had her fingers in her mouth, gazing out of the window, completely oblivious to everything. But Felipinho was paying attention and his usual grin was gone.

“I didn’t mean to go off,” he said quickly. “But the lady said I would be in trouble because Emily fell in the pond and I didn’t want to be in trouble.”

“The lady?” Rob asked, also spinning around in the chair to face the children. “You went off with the lady?”

Felipinho’s eyes widened when he remembered he wasn’t supposed to tell Rob about that.

“Pea, did you go off with the lady?”

Felipinho nodded. “But then the man came to take me back to you and he said to not tell you because then I would get in even more trouble and I wanted to tell you but he made me promise.”

“Kimi knew?”

The car behind them hit the horn and Rob realised the light had turned green. Nico’s car was far out of sight but Rob knew the way to the hospital by heart now, so that wasn’t a problem.

“When the man came, where were you?” Rob asked.

“Am I in trouble?” Felipinho asked, his fingers in his mouth now.

“No,” Hanna said, gently.

“Yes, Pea, you are,” Rob said. “You know you’re not allowed to tell lies and you know you’re not allowed to go off with the lady. But you will be in even more trouble if you don’t tell the truth now.”

He glanced in the rear view mirror to see Felipinho crying, but he was too angry to care. Not angry at Felipinho, but at Kimi and this woman who was determined to ruin his life.

“I was at the lady’s house,” Felipinho said. “She gave me biscuits. Then the man came and he was angry and he took me to you. I wanted to tell you, Rob. I really did. But he made me promise. Please don’t be angry.”

“I’m not angry at you, Pea,” Rob said, trying to stop himself from sounding it. He gripped the steering wheel tighter when he realised what Kimi had made him do. “But you know you shouldn’t have gone off with the lady. She isn’t a nice person.”

“But she gave me biscuits,” Pea said, quietly.

“That doesn’t mean she’s a nice person,” Hanna said, gently. She was still turned round to face the children, her own tears drying now. “Rob knows best, doesn’t he? And he’s just trying to look after you and make sure you’re safe.”

“It’s not fair,” Felipinho said, even quieter than before. “I want a nice mummy like you.”

“I know sweet heart,” Hanna said, wiping his tears. “But you’ve got your daddy and you’ve got Rob, and they’re just as good.”

Rob smiled at the mumbled agreement Felipinho made, but it hurt his face just trying. He didn’t know how yet, but he was going to find a way to stop her.

 

Kimi woke to the sound of his mobile buzzing but, by the time he managed to get it out from the jeans he’d left on the floor, it had stopped.

Eighteen missed calls from Hanna.

Why did Hanna need to contact him that bad?

He frowned down at his phone, trying to remember what he’d done that would require eighteen missed calls, but there was nothing, Unless the calmness had finally disappeared and she was angry about Sebastian. That would make sense. Maybe not eighteen calls though.

A little annoyed, Kimi came to the conclusion he was going to have to phone her.

She answered immediately.

“I have been trying to phone you for a fucking hour,” Hanna said, trying to stay calm but not managing to keep the anger from her voice. “Sebastian’s gone to hospital.”

“What?” Kimi asked, still sleepy.

“He hit his head or something,” Hanna said, the anger falling away with every syllable until there was just fear. “I don’t know what happened. He was with Nico Rosberg and he was bleeding and I don’t know. Where the fuck are you?”

“Rosberg?” Kimi asked.

“ _Yes_ ,” Hanna snapped. “I don’t know what’s happened. We’re at the hospital. They won’t tell us anything.”

“Will be there in five minutes,” Kimi said, trying to pull on the clothes he’d left on the floor without putting the phone down. “Is Rosberg there with you?”

“Yeah,” Hanna said. “He brought Seb in.”

“Ok,” Kimi said. “Do not let him leave. I will be there soon.”

He hung up the phone before Hanna could reply and finished getting dressed.

He’d known all along telling anyone about their relationship would put Sebastian in danger. _That_ was why he hadn’t wanted to tell Hanna. He didn’t know how Rosberg had found out, but news travelled fast in this city and it didn’t surprise him in the slightest.

If this had anything to do with Nico, though, Kimi was going to kill him.


	41. In which Rob tries to explain and Kimi isn't as violent as he thought he might be...

“Where is he?”

Hanna tried to stop Kimi going any further, telling him they had been asked by the nurses to wait there, but Kimi wasn’t listening.

“Where is Rosberg?”

“He… he went to the toilet, I think,” Hanna said, waving down the corridor Nico had gone down.

Kimi didn’t bother to reply, marching down the corridor after Nico.

 

Felipe smiled when he saw who his visitors were, but the smile soon fell when he noticed Felipinho’s tears. The five year old ran across the room, kicked off his shoes, and curled up beside his father, still crying. Felipe frowned and turned to Rob for an answer. Rob rubbed the back of his neck, trying to think of a way to explain this without admitting he’d let Felipe down, _again_.

“What is wrong, hey?” Felipe asked Felipinho when Rob didn’t answer.

“I was being naughty and Rob told me off,” Felipinho said, quietly. “I didn’t want to be naughty. The man made me.”

That answered exactly none of Felipe’s questions and he looked up at Rob again.

“Yesterday…” Rob sighed and fell into his usual seat beside the bed. “When he was out with Hanna he went missing. He told me he just wondered off by himself, but that woman took him.”

Felipe physically tensed and Felipinho looked up at him to see what the matter was.

“I am sorry, Daddy. Please don’t be angry.”

“I’m not angry,” Felipe said, quietly, closing his eyes so he didn’t have to make a decision of where to look. He wasn’t angry. He was just numb. She couldn’t come here and ruin everything. She could not ruin his son like she had ruined him.

“You have to listen, though, ok,” Felipe said, shifting Felipinho so that he was sat up. Shaking, he opened his eyes and looked down at the child he had let down one too many times. “The lady is your mummy, Felipinho, but she does nasty things. When you were a baby like Emily, she did some nasty things to me. And I did not want her to do any nasty things to you, so I took you away, and we came to live with Rob. We were hiding from her. But now she has found us. You have to stay away from her, Felipinho, because she is going to do nasty things.”

Felipinho looked up at him, then turned to Rob, then back to Felipe. He shook his head a little.

“She said I was going to live with her soon,” he said. “I don’t want to live with her if she does nasty things. I want to live with you and Rob, still.”

“It’s ok,” Felipe promised, pulling his son onto his lap. “You’re not going to live with her. We won’t let you.”

 

“I am so sorry, Nico,” Jenson said, his voice tinny on the hospital phone. It was raining outside, again, and Nico really didn’t fancy sitting in the cold to have this discussion. “I thought… I mean, Kimi said it would be a good thing. I should have listened to you.”

“You weren’t to know,” Nico said, gently. Just listening to Jenson calmed him down a little. He wished the Brit could come down to the hospital but Jenson was alone in the coffee shop again and couldn’t afford to close. “You were just trying to help. I thought he would help too…”

“Why would he do something like _that_ ,” Jenson asked. “It’s as if he’s trying to get you killed.”

“Maybe he is,” Nico said. It wouldn’t surprise him. “That’s the way he expects me to deal with things, Jense.”

“Well, I’m glad you don’t,” Jenson said. “Your way of dealing things is much better.”

“My way?” Nico scoffed. “What way would that be, then? Have a breakdown and expect everyone else to sort things out for you?”

“Rosberg!”

Nico jumped when he heard the call and spun to find Kimi marching up the hall towards him.

“I’m going to have to go, Jense,” Nico mumbled into the phone. “I’ll call you later.”

“What happened?” Kimi demanded.

“He collapsed,” Nico said. “We… I think we need to talk, Kimi.”

“What?”

The Finn didn’t move when Nico stepped away from the phone, just stood with his arms crossed against his chest. Nico sighed and leaned against the wall.

“You told Jenson to bring my dad here,” Nico said.

The usual frown on Kimi’s face faltered a little and his stance deflated the tiniest amount.

“Yes?”

“He came,” Nico said. “He thought maybe he could solve this himself.”

“He attacked Sebastian?” Kimi said.

Nico nodded. “I didn’t know. When I found out, I tried to bring him back to you, but then he collapsed.”

“Collapsed?”

“I don’t know what my dad did,” Nico said. “When I got there, Seb’s head was bleeding, but he was awake. He was walking.”

“And what did you say that made him think I was behind this?” Kimi said. “Have told you, was nothing to do with me. I am on your side.”

“I don’t know,” Nico said. “We were talking about last time, when he didn’t do anything. Maybe he connected the dots wrong.”

“Am sure you did not imply anything at all.” Kimi muttered.

“Don’t make this my fault,” Nico said. “You were the one that told Jenson to bring him here. I didn’t want anything to do with him until you brought him here. If this is anyone’s fault, it’s yours.”

Kimi chuckled, throwing Nico off a little. “Of course. It can never be your fault, can it Rosberg? Are refusing to believe you have brought any of this on yourself. Must be my fault this has happened as well.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Whilst you have been moaning and crying about how unfair your life is, Nico, I have been trying to get this whole mess sorted out,” Kimi snapped. “And trying to deal with all the other problems people keep coming to me for. Notice they do not come to you so much?”

When Nico didn’t reply, Kimi turned to march back up the hall. He’d been dealing with the younger Rosberg’s faults since they were kids and he was sick of it.

Nico fell back into the wall, squeezed his eyes shut, and tried to keep his breathing under control. Someday this was all going to be a stupid memory. He just had to survive that long.

 

Rob had to duck out of the room. He leaned against the wall outside, each breath hitching as he tried to stop himself from crying. He was the strong one. He was the one who protected them. He needed to start acting like it.

They needed a lawyer, or something. He was supposed to have dealt with that all yesterday, but he’d been putting it off. There was that nagging fear in the back of his mind, even knowing what she had done.

The mothers _always_ got the child.

This was different, of course, but he still couldn’t shake that feeling.

In the other room, Felipinho was giggling again, and it only made him feel worse. He forced himself away from the room, back down to the waiting room. He’d see how Hanna was. He could deal with Hanna and Sebastian and Emily. He’d been dealing with those kinds of problems for years.

Hanna was in the waiting room where Rob had left her, bouncing Emily on her knee to try to keep her quiet.

“You can go home, if you want,” Rob said, quietly, even though he knew Hanna was never going to leave. “I’ll phone you when something happens.”

“It’s ok,” Hanna said. “I need to be here. I need to make sure this one’s daddy’s ok, don’t I, Emily? Need to make sure Daddy is ok, don’t we?”

Emily frowned and looked around. “Dada?”

“He’ll be here soon, sweetie, don’t worry,” Hanna whispered. “I can’t go home Rob. I need to be with people. I need to be busy. I can’t go home.”

Rob nodded, patting Hanna on the back. He would hug her, but he was still a little worried about what Sebastian had thought. He had to just be paranoid. He couldn’t really think they were together, could he? It had been obvious enough to Hanna that he was with Felipe. And the nurse, Laura. And Kimi.

“Have you got in touch with Kimi yet?” Rob asked.

Hanna nodded. “He got here about five minutes ago and went straight off to find Rosberg.”

“Which way did he go?” Rob asked, jumping up.

“Rob, don’t do anything stupid,” Hanna said, grabbing his hand and pulling him back down into the chair beside her. “I know you’re angry, but just think about this for a second.”

“It’s all I can think about,” Rob said. “I am _scared,_ ok? Those two are the only family I have, and this woman is trying to ruin that. She’s already done enough damage and I can’t let her do anymore, Hanna. And Kimi’s going around acting like some misunderstood saint, when he’s not. He’s on _her_ side.”

“Yes, but think about what you are doing,” Hanna said. Her hand slipped away from Rob’s as he stood up again. “You’re going to go and have an argument with him? What is that going to achieve? He’s probably not even going to answer you, is he? You need to calm down and think about this properly. It’s the only way you’re going to get any answers from him.”

“Which way did he go, Hanna?” Rob said.

She didn’t answer, but her eyes flicked to something behind Rob and he spun around to find himself face to face with the Finn in question.

“Rob.”

“You told Felipinho to lie to us,” Rob said. Under normal circumstances he would be listening to Hanna’s advice and taking a step back and assessing the situation, but he’s just angry. Angry at him for making Felipinho lie. Angry at him for taking her side when he had no idea what was going on. Angry at him for _making_ him angry and yelling at Felipinho.

“Little kids tell lies all the time,” Kimi said. “Cannot say I am surprised, growing up with you two as parent figures.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Means you have been telling a child to lie about his parents being together all his life, and his biological dad kidnapped him in the first place,” Kimi said, bluntly. “Is not surprising that the child lies about where he goes when he runs off.”

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Rob snapped. “No idea what Felipe has been through. He did _not_ kidnap Felipinho.”

“Are always so trusting of the tramps, Rob, you cannot see what is right in front of you,” Kimi said, emotionless as always. “Cannot bare to think that maybe you are not doing such a good thing after all.”

“He is _not_ a tramp and he is _not_ lying,” Rob said, darkly. “You have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Have you even heard her side of the story?” Kimi asked. “Do you even want to? Or would you rather stay in your own little bubble and pretend you are the good guy?”

“Have you heard his side?”

Kimi’s emotionless face was broken for a moment by a laugh. “What is there he can say that would make what he did right?”

“She beat him,” Rob cried. “She beat him and he was scared she’d do the same to their little boy.”

Rob fell silent immediately, realising what he had done. He should not have said that. Not like that. He shouldn’t have shouted and let everyone know and when Felipe found out – because there was no way Rob was going to be able to hide this from him – he’d never tell him anything again.

“ _Beat_ him?” Kimi asked. “And you really believe this. Does not even make any sense.”

“Doesn’t make sense?” Rob asked, quieter than usual. “Do you really think Felipe would ever do anything to hurt Pea? Hanna?”

Rob and Kimi both turned to Hanna, who stared back at Rob, opening and closing her mouth, struggling to come up with something to say.

“Hanna, would Felipe do anything to hurt Pea?” Rob said again.

“No, but Rob…” Hanna began, trailing off because she didn’t know how to finish.

“You… you don’t believe him?” Rob asked, quietly. “Hanna?”

“Of course she does not believe him,” Kimi said. “Is not true. These things do not happen.”

“Of course they happen,” Rob yelled. “How can you even judge that? You don’t know him. You don’t know her. You weren’t there.”

“If it was true he would have gone to the police,” Kimi said. “Would not have just run away with a child.”

“You know what, you can both go fuck yourselves,” Rob said. “You know him, Hanna. I would have thought you’d know better.”

“Rob, please…”

Rob ignored her, marching away from the waiting room and back to Felipe and Felipinho. Hanna went to follow him, but Kimi stopped her.

“Is no use trying to make him see sense,” he said. “Is not much you can do.”


	42. In which Jenson explains how things are and Rob explains what he's done...

Jenson groaned when he saw who had come into the coffee shop, not even bothering to hide his annoyance.

“Have you spoken to Nico?” Keke asked.

“Do you have any idea what you have done?” Jenson asked. “That’s a human being. He’s not just some pawn in one of your stupid little games. He’s a father. And now he’s in hospital. Congratulations. Not only have you managed to severely piss of Kimi Räikkönen, but you may have killed a guy at the same time.”

“I will take that as a yes,” Keke said.

“If you’re not ordering something, you can get out,” Jenson said.

The coffee shop wasn’t particularly busy. In fact, Jenson was pretty sure this was the quietest it had been at this time of week in a long time. He wasn’t sure if that meant anything, but wouldn’t be surprised if it was caused by the antics of the day before.

“I will have whatever is cheapest,” Keke said, sitting down at the bar just a little way away from the till.

Jenson rolled his eyes and took a bottle of water from the fridge behind the counter.

“Three pound.”

“For a bottle of water?”

“Yes,” Jenson said though gritted teeth.

Keke fished a five pound note from his pocket and handed it to Jenson. “Keep the change.”

There was no queue, and only a few customers sat at the tables, minding their own business and trying to not make eye contact with Jenson when they spoke to their friends. Jenson smiled at anyone he did make eye contact with, trying to silently encourage them to come up and order something else or speak to him or anything. He needed a distraction, but none came.

“Where is Nico?” Keke asked.

“At the hospital,” Jenson said.

As if the hospital didn’t have enough bad memories for him, Jenson thought. As if Nico didn’t have enough to deal with without this as well.

“Why is he there?” Keke asked. “Does not have to stay, does he?”

“He _wants_ to,” Jenson said. “Funnily enough, he actually gives a shit about what happens to the people he’s looking after.”

“He is not supposed to be looking after you,” Keke said. “He is supposed to be watching over you. Nico is coming at this from the wrong place. This is why all this has started.”

“Maybe you were coming at this from the wrong place,” Jenson suggested. “People _like_ Nico. People think he’s a good person and, when they’re not at each other’s throats, he and Kimi get things done. Do you know how hard it was for Toto to get the truce between the pair of them last time? Do you have any idea how hard it’s been for the both of them to keep that? And you’ve probably gone and fucked all that up as well.”

“It is good to see the youth of today still have respect for their elders,” Keke muttered, and Jenson almost laughed. Nobody had called him “the youth of today” in a long time.

“I have respect for people who deserve it,” Jenson said. “Being around for longer than other people doesn’t earn you respect, I’m afraid.”

“When will Nico be back?” Keke asked, ignoring the comment.

“I don’t know. Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

“I think we both know why I cannot do that,” Keke said.

“He’s going to try to sort things out with Räikkönen, I think,” Jenson said. “He might wait around to make sure Sebastian’s ok as well. Sebastian’s daughter and girlfriend are there. He’s trying to comfort them as well. Your son is dealing with your mess. Don’t worry.”

 

Felipe and Felipinho were singing nursery rhymes when Rob returned, Felipinho trying to figure out what to do with his hands when they sang _Incy wincy spider_. The child’s tears were gone now, easily distracted, but Rob could tell Felipe was still on the brink of crying, and he felt the same.

“I… I’ve done something stupid,” Rob said, trying to keep his voice calm, but he had to gulp down air and take long, deep breaths before he could even look at Felipe.

Felipe looked up at him, waiting.

“I didn’t mean to,” Rob said, and he can’t help but notice how much he sounds like a kid then. “But he’s taking her side and I wanted him to realise what a huge mistake that is. I didn’t mean to.”

“What… what did you do?” Felipe asked, but when Rob looked at him it was clear Felipe knew what had happened.

“I told Räikkönen and Hanna,” Rob said. “It just came out. I was trying to make Räikkönen see. He’s taken her side and he’s the one who’s supposed to be protecting us.”

“You told them?” Felipe asked, trying to keep his voice level but only managing by being very quiet.

Rob nodded, not sure if he trusted himself to speak anymore. He felt like he was going to be sick. The idea of melting into a puddle of sick to be swept away sounded very appealing right now. His eyes flicked between the floor and Felipe. Every time he looked up he expected to be met by a scowl, but Felipe just sat there, on the verge of tears but still not quiet over the edge.

“How?” he croaked, eventually.

Rob’s eyes stayed on the floor, but that was beginning to spin now so he closed them in the hope he didn’t throw up.

“I didn’t mean to,” he said again, as if that was an excuse.

“Did not mean to?” Felipe asked. “Do you know how hard it was to tell you?”

“No, I have no idea, but I know it was hard” Rob said. “I shouldn’t have done it. I know I shouldn’t have done it.”

“But you did it anyway,” Felipe said.

“I was angry,” Rob said, but he knew that was no excuse. “Räikkönen, the one who is supposed to be protecting us, _has taken her side_. I needed to try to make him take ours, Felipe, or else he we would be going against him as well.”

“We?” Felipe asked. “You think this is to do with you?”

“Of course this is to do with me. I love you,” Rob said, his eyes still shut.

“Did not believe you, did he?” Felipe asked. For a second, Rob’s surprised that he knew, then he remembered what Felipe had said, about when it had happened. Nobody had believed him then either.

Rob shook his head, which did nothing for the dizziness.

“And Hanna?” Felipe asked. “You said you told Hanna as well.”

Rob shook his head again.

For a long time, Felipe didn’t say anything.

“Daddy?” Felipinho asked. “Daddy, what’s wrong?”

Rob finally managed to open his eyes and look up at Felipe. The tears that had been trying to push through had finally accomplished their goal and rolled down his face, onto Felipinho’s thumb that was poised at the bottom of his cheek, ready to wipe them away.

“Daddy are you hurting? Should I get up now?”

“No, it’s ok,” Felipe whispered. He glanced up at Rob. “Can you go now?”

“Felipe…”

“Please.”

Rob gulped back his own tears, but nodded. “Come on Pea.”

Felipinho looked up at Felipe. “Do I have to go?”

“Yeah,” Felipe said, his voice strangled by the tears. “But you can come back tomorrow, yeah? Maybe Valtteri would like to bring you. Would be nice to say hello.”

“Felipe…” Rob tried, but the Brazilian shook his head, helping Felipinho down from off of the bed.

Felipinho stood on his toes to kiss his father goodbye, still not happy with the tears that were rolling down his cheeks.

“I love you.”

“Love you too.”

 

“Mr Räikkönen?”

Kimi jumped up as soon as the doctor called his name, Hanna following suit. The doctor looked between the pair of them, then called for them to follow her into a consultation room.

“Sebastian is doing well,” the doctor said. “There’s no lasting damage. From what we can tell, he passed out through pain rather than because of any damage to his brain. We’ll have to do further checks to be sure but it looks like it’s nothing too serious. He’s awake and responding well.”

“He’s going to be ok?” Hanna asked.

“Like I said, we can’t be certain until we’ve done all the checks, but it would seem very much like that, yes,” the doctor said.

“Can we see him?” Hanna asked, before Kimi could say anything.

“He’s doing some more tests with a colleague at the moment,” the doctor said. “But as soon as he’s finished with them, I can come and fetch you, if you like.”

“How soon can he be moved to another hospital?” Kimi asked.

The doctor frowned, puzzled by the question. “Well, immediately. But I wouldn’t recommend it. There’s little need to move him. The doctors here are quite capable of dealing with the injuries.”

“Am sure this is true,” Kimi said. “But this is not the safest hospital in the world. You are still cleaning up after Hamilton, yes?”

“Well, yes, but that was an isolated incident,” the doctor said. “There hasn’t been a case before or since.”

“I am not taking that risk,” Kimi said. “I would like him moved as soon as possible.”


	43. In which Sebastian has questions, Valtteri gives advice, and Kimi explains a little...

“I should get hit in the head more often,” Sebastian said as Kimi led Hanna to Sebastian’s bed. “People are nice to me like this.”

“I think it would be better if we could find other reasons to be nice to you,” Kimi said, falling into one of the chairs beside Sebastian’s bed. Hanna sat down beside him, Emily on her lap. Emily gurgled, reaching out for Sebastian with one hand. Sebastian grinned and took her when Hanna offered.

“Hello, you,” Sebastian said. “Looking a little drier today.”

“Da da da da da da da,” Emily sang, patting Sebastian’s chest with each _da_.

“How are you feeling?” Hanna asked.

“Alright,” Sebastian said. “A bit of a headache, but other than that, I am fine.”

He looked a lot more cheerful than his usual self, Hanna thought.

“Have the police been to see you yet?” Kimi asked.

Sebastian shook his head. “What do I say? When they come?”

“The truth,” Hanna said. “Seb, you can’t lie to the police. You can get in trouble for that.”

“It was Nico,” Sebastian said. “Well, someone who was working for Nico. I can’t tell them that. Nico stopped it getting any worse. He didn’t mean for it to happen, I think.”

“Cannot tell them that,” Kimi agreed. “It was a mugging, right? You did not see their face.”

“Right,” Sebastian said.

“You cannot lie to the police,” Hanna said again.

“If he tells them it was something to do with Nico, it will only make whatever is going on worse,” Kimi said. “And will mean Nico will not try to help in future. We are trying to stay on one another’s good sides.”

Kimi couldn’t be sure if Hanna understood how important that was, or if she was going to go along with it, but he knew she wasn’t stupid.

“Kimi wants to move you to another hospital,” Hanna said.

“Why?” Sebastian asked.

Kimi sighed. He couldn’t tell Sebastian about Lewis. It would only make him worry and it would be easier if the police interviewed him when he wasn’t like that.

“Think you would be safer at another hospital,” Kimi said. “If whoever attacked Lewis were to find out about us…”

“I know Lewis is missing,” Sebastian said. “You think that could happen to me?”

“Who told you about Lewis?” Kimi asked, as if he really needed to.

“Nico.”

Who else?

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sebastian asked.

“You did not need to know,” Kimi said. “I was sorting it.”

“I did need to know.”

“Come on Emily,” Hanna said, taking her daughter back from Sebastian as she stood. “I think Daddy needs to have a chat.”

“Hanna?” Sebastian asked, waving goodbye to Emily. “I’m sorry. For what I said before. I’m an idiot. I shouldn’t have accused you of that.”

“It’s ok,” Hanna said. “I understand.”

 

“What is wrong?” Felipinho asked when they finally returned home. “Why was Daddy crying? Rob, why are you sad?”

“Just…” Rob sighed. He needed to explain, but he didn’t know how. “I did something very silly. I didn’t mean to, but I did. And it’s upset Daddy.”

“ _You_ upset Daddy?” Felipinho asked as Rob helped him out of the car. “Didn’t you say sorry?”

“Sometimes sorry doesn’t make things better,” Rob said, quietly. “But I’m going to make him happy again, don’t worry.”

“Ok,” Felipinho said, quietly. Rob could see he didn’t really believe that, but he couldn’t come up with anything else to say. The kid had already been through far too much in these past couple of weeks. He didn’t need Rob and Felipe falling out as well. “I’m going to do colouring now.”

“Ok.”

“Upstairs,” Felipinho clarified, hurrying up the stairs as soon as Rob opened the front door.

Rob watched him go, struggling to keep the smile on his face. He headed to the kitchen, thinking maybe a cup of tea would at least calm him down enough to think, and was surprised to find Valtteri already pouring boiling water into a mug.

“Break,” Valtteri explained.

“Ah,” Rob said. He was relieved to find there was still water in the kettle and quickly makes his own cup of tea.

“Are you ok?” Valtteri asked.

“I’m fine,” Rob said, forcing a smile and drinking his tea. “Never better.”

“What is wrong?” Valtteri asked.

“Nothing.”

“Does not always have to be nothing wrong, Rob,” Valtteri said. “You are allowed to struggle sometimes too. What is the matter? Can maybe help fix it?”

“It’s nothing,” Rob said again, falling into one of the seats at the small table. “Just Kimi Räikkönen being a dick.”

Valtteri blinked in surprise, then followed Rob’s lead and sat opposite him at the small table.

“Is this just about Räikkönen?” Valtteri asked. “Because I do not think it is not unusual for him to be doing things that make him seem like that.”

Rob looked down at his tea. Sometimes he liked having Valtteri around. Sometimes he wished he was alone. Right now he couldn’t decide which one he was feeling.

“It’s everything,” Rob said. He explained for the first time everything that had happened since the day they’d woken up and Felipinho had been missing. Valtteri sat and listened patiently, nodding sometimes and asking for clarification a couple of times, but usually still and silent. Rob explained everything from finding Felipinho at the school to Kimi making him lie to what Felipe had remembered and finally finished telling Valtteri what he had told Kimi and how Felipe had reacted. The story took longer than he thought. By the time he was finished, his tea was cold. He sighed, standing to tip the drink away and boil the kettle again.

“Do not know what you can do about Felipe,” Valtteri said, tipping away the dregs of his own tea. “Is more your area of expertise than mine, but know how you can convince Räikkönen.”

“How?” Rob asked, suspiciously.

“The friend,” Valtteri said. “The friend who brought Felipe here after everything that happened. He would know the truth, and would maybe be able to convince Räikkönen.”

“I don’t know who that is, though,” Rob said.

“I could find out,” Valtteri said. “You said he wants me to take Felipinho tomorrow I can go ask to see if he knows where he might be.”

“Do you think he would still know?” Rob asked. “It’s been a long time.”

“Is worth a try,” Valtteri said. “The worst that can happen is he does not know. And then we are back to where we are now. Cannot do any harm.”

Rob nodded. This was definitely one of the times he was glad the Finn was around.

 

“Lewis was attacked at the hospital,” Kimi explained. He didn’t look at Sebastian having already seen the glare he was getting and not really expecting that to change. “The day of the car crash, when I got the phone call on the train? It was Niki to tell me about this. We do not know who has taken him, but they made a mess. He might not even be alive, but Nico seems to think so, so I am looking for him.”

“And you think whoever’s done this… is going to come after me?” Sebastian said, slowly.

“It is a possibility,” Kimi said. “We still do not know why whoever is doing this is doing it. They could come to hurt you, and I do not want to run that risk.”

He took Sebastian’s hand, rubbing circles into the back of it with his thumb. When he finally managed to look up at Sebastian again, he was met by bright blue eyes staring at his.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You did not need to know,” Kimi said.

“Didn’t need to know?” Sebastian cried. “When you thought someone might attack me, you didn’t think I needed to know.”

“You were busy with Hanna and Emily,” Kimi said. “Was nothing you could do about it anyway. Is still nothing you can do about it. Was no point telling you.”

“What if this guy came and attacked me yesterday at the park?” Sebastian asked. “What about Emily?”

“Did not think that would happen,” Kimi said. “And it did not. See, you did not need to know.”

His thumb had stopped moving on Sebastian’s hand and Sebastian wanted to pull it away. Before he could, Kimi brought it up to his lips and gently kissed Sebastian’s knuckles, noticing the bruises around his wrists from whatever bonds Keke used.

“I did not want you to worry.”

“What now?” Sebastian asked.

“You’re moving to the nearest hospital as soon as possible,” Kimi said. “And you will get better. That is all you need to focus on.”

“But Lewis…”

“I will deal with Lewis,” Kimi promised. “And I will deal with Nico. You do not have to worry.”

He brought Sebastian’s hand to his lips again, this time gently kissing the scars that criss-crossed his wrists, careful to not touch the bruise.

“I still worry,” Sebastian said.

“I know,” Kimi said. “That is just who you are, and I love you.”


	44. In which Valtteri helps, Nico gets a phone call, and Rob goes to a bar...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone *still* reading this. It means a lot to me.

“Daddy!” Felipinho was back to bouncing across the room and onto the bed, back to his usual grinning self. He clutched a picture in one hand and his lunch box in the other. Rob had explained to the school why he wouldn’t be there. They hadn’t been that accepting of this fact but, as they had let him leave school with a stranger, he didn’t really trust their judgment of what was best for Felipinho.

He’d listened to Felipe’s wishes and had stayed at home, giving Valtteri the job of controlling an excited five year old.

“Glad to see you are better,” Valtteri said, taking Rob’s usual seat. He sat, uncomfortably, watching Felipinho squirm to try to get a better seat on his father’s lap. “Is good to see you again.”

“Thank you,” Felipe said. “For helping Rob with this one. Know he can be a bit of a handful.”

It was never that Felipinho and Valtteri didn’t get along, before, but Valtteri had a way of doing things, a routine that he went through every day, and Felipinho had spent a lot of time trying to find new ways to ruin this routine.

And there was the touching. It had never been confirmed or even mentioned aloud, but Felipe was fairly sure Valtteri didn’t like being touched. Felipinho, of course, didn’t understand this…

“Was not too bad,” Valtteri said with an awkward smile.

“Look what I drew,” Felipinho said, immediately grabbing Felipe’s attention by waving the piece of paper in front of his face. “That’s me. And that’s you. And that’s Rob. And that’s Valtteri. And that’s Hanna. And that’s Emily. And that’s Emily’s Daddy. And that’s a dinosaur. The big one with the long neck.”

He patted the picture, proudly.

“Is very good. Yes, that is a long neck,” Felipe said, not even bothering to ask why there was a dinosaur in the picture, because he was pretty sure that was obvious and he was being stupid.

“Rob has told me about what happened,” Valtteri said. “Did not just blurt it out. I made him tell me. He was upset, but always thinks he needs to be ‘fine’. Hope this is not a problem.”

Felipe cringed. Soon the whole world would know what had happened. They would all be calling him a liar and he would never get any peace. This was it now, for the rest of his life.

“It’s fine,” he lied.

“I believe you, you know,” Valtteri said.

Felipe’s eyes shot from the drawing to the Finn.

“You believe me?”

“Have known you long enough,” Valtteri pointed out. He didn’t think he’d ever forget the day he’d shown up to work and found Felipe trying to figure out how to work Rob’s kettle to make a bottle up for Felipinho.

( _“Is not a **normal** kettle.”_)

“Have seen it before,” Valtteri said, quietly. “Happened to my father.”

Felipe stared at him, not really able to believe what he was hearing. “You believe me?”

Valtteri smiled, sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck as his eyes dropped to the floor and his cheeks burned a little. “I believe you. And Rob believes you. Whoever does not believe you are idiots.”

Felipe almost laughed a little, his own face splitting into a grin.

“Thank you.”

“Need to try to convince Räikkönen, though,” Valtteri said. “I know Rob should not have done what he did, but Räikkönen being on your side will help.”

“I cannot convince him,” Felipe said. “Could not even convince people back home when it happened. My own brother did not believe me.”

“Someone did, didn’t they?” Valtteri asked. “The person who brought you here?”

“One person,” Felipe said. “And only because he was my best friend and she stopped me seeing him.”

“Maybe he could convince Räikkönen?” Valtteri asked. “Is he in Elevency?”

“The last I heard,” Felipe said. “Have not spoken for a while. Have not spoken since I came to live with Rob. Started a new job at a bar and thought it best if we both started fresh, so she could not find us.”

It didn’t look like that had worked…

“Do you have his name?” Valtteri asked. “I could go and see him. Or Rob, maybe?”

Felipe shook his head. “I do not want to bother him. He has already done enough.”

“Räikkönen is on the mother’s side, yes?” Valtteri said. “Then she will win. If this person can get Räikkönen to believe you, will be more likely to take your side and help you keep Felipinho. And this is what you want?”

“Of course that’s what I want,” Felipe said.

“Well then it is worth bothering this person a little more,” Valtteri said. “What is his name?”

“Alonso,” Felipe said. “Fernando Alonso.”

 

Nico was woken by the banging on the door, but he didn’t open his eyes or even move. They’d go away eventually. It couldn’t be that important. Well, it could, but he would deal with that later. Then someone moved beside him and he opened his eyes. He hadn’t been expecting anyone to be beside him.

He watched as Jenson got out of the bed and went over to the window. Wait, there shouldn’t be a window…

Nico wasn’t at home, he realised. It took him a couple of seconds to remember what had happened last night, in which time he Jenson opened the window, letting in the cold, and shouted out.

“He doesn’t want to speak to you. Go home.”

Nico groaned quietly and pulled the duvet closer around him. He hadn’t gone home last night because Keke had been waiting there. It was probably childish to not speak to him about this, but Nico didn’t know what he could say to convince the man. So he’d come to Jenson’s. Clearly, Keke had found out where Jenson lived.

“You cannot keep him up there forever.”

“Leave or I’m phoning the police.”

Nico screwed his eyes shut and waited for Jenson to come back to bed.

On the floor beside the bed, Nico’s own phone started ringing. He groaned and let a single arm venture out into the cold to find it, half expecting it to be Keke.

Nico answered immediately.

“Hello?”

“Nico, where are you?” Kevin asked. “I have been stood outside for half an hour now.”

“Erm, I’m at Jenson’s,” Nico said, reluctantly pushing the duvet away from him and trying to find his trousers on the bedroom floor.

“What are you doing there?” Kevin asked.

“Doesn’t matter,” Nico said. “Why do you need me?”

“Something has come up,” Kevin said. “We might have found Lewis.”

 

The bar was closed when Rob found it, probably because it was only midday. It hadn’t been hard to track down Fernando. In the five years since he’d spoken to Felipe, the Spaniard had gone from working in the bar to owning it.

Rob peered in through the window, trying to see if there was anyone inside. It didn’t look like the kind of place he would hang out in, but it had been a long time since Rob had been to a bar that wasn’t associated with a kids’ play place. It made him feel a little old and he decided there and then that, when all this was over, Valtteri was looking after Felipinho one night and he was taking Felipe to a bar.

There was movement in the dimly lit bar and Rob jumped away from the window before knocking quickly. A couple of seconds later, the door was opened by a tanned man with thick, dark hair and even thicker eyebrows.

“We are closed,” he said, nodding to the sign that read the opening times. “Come back later.”

He went to close the door but Rob stuck his foot in it.

“You’re Fernando, right?” he asked.

“Sí,” Fernando sighed. “What do you want? I am very busy, you know.”

“I don’t know if you remember, but a couple of years ago you brought a guy and his son to the Halfway Houses?” Rob asked.

Fernando narrowed his eyes, looking Rob up and down. “Who are you?”

“I own the houses,” Rob said. “I was wondering if I could talk to you. About Felipe. You do remember him?”

“Was five years ago, not fifty,” Fernando said, stepping aside to let Rob in. “What is the matter?”

“You heard he’s in hospital?” Rob asked. He wasn’t sure where to begin. Something stopped him from just asking: a tiny piece of doubt that had been eating at him from the moment Felipe told him.

“Have heard,” Fernando said.

“And you didn’t go to see him?” Rob asked.

Fernando shrugged. “We agreed it would be better if we both started again here. Things did not exactly work out so well before.”

“Felipe told me about what happened,” Rob said.

“You are close then?” Fernando asked. There’s a faint smile on his face but it doesn’t reach his eyes.

Rob nodded, trying to hide the relief that the small confirmation had given him. He’d believed Felipe. Of course he’d believed him. But now that tiny nagging piece of doubt was gone, and he felt much better for it. “Pretty close.”

“He did not want to tell anyone here about that,” Fernando said. “I told him he could maybe get help but he would not listen. Said nobody would believe him. I cannot say I blame him.”

“Nobody believed him before, did they?” Rob asked. He fell into one of the seats at the bar as Fernando slid behind it.

Fernando shook his head. “Even the police would not help him. Think he wanted to pretend it did not happen. You believe him, though.”

“Of course,” Rob said. “But we have a bit of a problem.”

“You either believe him or you do not,” Fernando said.

“It isn’t me who doesn’t believe him,” Rob said. “Do you know who Kimi Räikkönen is?”

Fernando snorted. “Who around here does not know who he is?”

Rob nodded. “Felipe’s wife has found us,” Rob said. “And Räikkönen has taken her side. I tried to tell him what happened, but he doesn’t believe me.”

Fernando stood from where he was leaning on the bar, his eyes dropping to the floor. “Is not the kind of thing Räikkönen would believe,” he said, quietly.

“Maybe you could tell him,” Rob suggested. “Maybe he would believe you.”

Fernando shook his head. “Do not think Räikkönen would believe anyone. I know him pretty well, I think. If he does not want to believe it, he will not.”

“But he believes _her_ ,” Rob stressed. “And she’s trying to take Felipinho away from us.”

“Us?” Fernando asked, one eyebrow raised.

It was Rob’s turn to look away, his cheeks beginning to heat up. “Us,” he said again.

Fernando nodded slowly, not needing any further confirmation. That explained why Felipe had told him, at least.

“Felipe loves that kid to bits,” Rob said. “We both do. We can’t lose him.”

Fernando sighed. “I will see what I can do. I do not know if I will be much use, but I will try.”

“Thank you,” Rob said, quietly. “It’s all I’m asking.”


	45. In which Nico goes to find Lewis and Felipinho tries to sort things out...

Nico was on his way to the street Kevin had given him before Jenson had finished shouting out of the window. It was on the outskirts of town, quiet and out of the way. Kevin hadn’t been able to tell him much, but it was enough to get Nico excited.

He was alive.

He never should have doubted Toto. Nico had left him a message to let him know what was going on, but he hadn’t yet spoken to him. Knowing Toto, he’d probably tell him to hold back and think this though. It would probably be good advice, Nico thought, as he sped through the city, but he doesn’t care. This has been left too long, and he doesn’t want anyone putting him off sorting it out.

It was only when he arrived that he realised he had no idea what he was going to do.

Backfor, the area Kevin had named, was not known for being a nice place. Nico didn’t come down here often – nobody did if they could help it – and his only real memory of the place was going to somebody’s house with Toto when he was a kid so Toto could use their telephone. He’d been young, and the most vivid thing he could remember was that the entire place stank of urine.

Not much had changed.

Nico stopped the car a little way down one of the streets. The entire place was deserted, the drizzling rain forcing everyone to stay indoors. For a while, Nico waited in the car, trying to come up with something that resembled a plan, but there was nothing.

Even though it was the middle of the day, one of the street lights was attempting to turn itself on, flickering in the gloom that the rain clouds provided. It’s orange glow caught the rain speckled pavement and, for a couple of seconds, it looked like the ground was on fire.

He couldn’t do this.

On the seat beside him, his phone was flashing. Missed calls from Jenson and Toto. And messages telling him to come back. They were right. Of course they were right.

But he didn’t care.

Nico climbed out of the car, pulled up the hood of his coat against the rain, and went to find Lewis. He still had no idea how he was going to do this, but anything was worth a try now.

 

“The doctors say you can come home?” Kimi asked almost as soon as he entered Sebastian’s new, private room.

Sebastian nodded. “Yeah, the test results came back this morning. I am fine, see? Was hardly worth finding another hospital.”

This one was a way out of town, on the outskirts of the next city. Elevency was not known for its abundance in hospitals.

“It meant I could sleep peacefully last night,” Kimi said. “It is good enough for me.” He sat on the edge of Sebastian’s bed, gently rubbing his knee though the thin blankets. “Am glad you are alright though. I do not know what I would do if you were not.”

He was looking at the floor, and didn’t see the smile that lit up Sebastian’s face.

“I love you,” Kimi said.

“I love you too,” Sebastian said, still grinning. “But we’re going to have to do something about the security of your house.”

“Is already done,” Kimi said, looking up with a small smile on his own face. It had been the first thing he had done when he went back. The second thing had been tidying up, because he knew Sebastian would moan about that too.

“All my stuff is still at Hanna’s,” Sebastian said, quietly.

“Not anymore,” Kimi said, grinning. The third thing he had done.

“You really have thought of everything, haven’t you?”

“This time,” Kimi said.

 

“I am going to go and get something to eat,” Valtteri said. “Do you want me to take him with me, or leave him here?”

“Uh ah oo ay ere,” Felipinho said through a mouthful of sandwich.

“He can stay here,” Felipe said, grinning. “I’ll see you later.”

Valtteri did his best to smile before leaving, planning on finding out how Rob had gotten on with Alonso and then getting something to eat from the takeaway down the road.

Felipinho watched him go, before squirming around so he could sit cross-legged on his father’s legs, facing Felipe with a very serious look on his face.

“Rob is sad,” he said, putting down the sandwich. “Because he made you sad and he tried to say sorry and you’re still sad.”

He crossed his arms, waiting for an explanation.

Felipe almost chocked on his breath and tried not to laugh at the serious glare Felipinho was giving him.

“Is not funny, Daddy,” Felipinho informed him. “Why are you still sad about Rob? He said sorry.”

“Sometimes sorry does not make things better,” Felipe said, the laughter gone now.

“Did you tell him how to make things better?” Felipinho asked.

Felipe shook his head.

“Then _how_ can Rob make it better?” Felipinho asked. “He wants you to be happy, Daddy.”

“I don’t think he can make this better, Pea,” Felipe said, flattening a strand of his son’s hair that was sticking up.

“But he has to,” Felipinho said. “You are just not thinking hard enough.”

He wriggled off of Felipe’s lap and started eating his lunch again.

Felipe didn’t know how to answer. He couldn’t think of a way to make this better. Nothing Rob could do was going to change what he had already done. He knew he’d never told Rob explicitly not to tell anyone, but he’d thought that would be made obvious by the fact he’d been keeping it a secret since he came here.

“Are you thinking, Daddy?” Felipinho asked.

“I am thinking, yes,” Felipe insisted.

“Do you need help?” Felipinho asked. “What did Rob do to make you sad?”

“It’s ok, Pea, it doesn’t matter,” Felipe said.

“Yes it _does_ ,” Felipinho said. “What did Rob do to make you sad?”

“He told somebody our secret,” Felipe said, quietly.

“Is that it?”

“It was a very important secret,” Felipe said.

“Oh,” Felipinho said. “Was it a very, very, _very_ important secret? Did he promise not to tell?”

“Not exactly.”

“Then maybe he didn’t know,” Felipinho said. “Or maybe he was telling somebody because he thought they needed to know. Like when sometimes I tell you secrets.”

Felipe didn’t have an answer for that. Felipinho looked up at him, waiting for a reply, with his sandwich halfway to his mouth.

“Maybe,” Felipe said, quietly.

“I think you should talk to Rob,” Felipinho said. “And then maybe he can come up with a way to make you happy again. He’s good at that.”

 

Nico found an off licence on the next street and, with lack of any other ideas, went inside. He didn’t know what he would expect. Lewis buying coffee? The people who had taken him chatting with the shop owner about new torture techniques. It was a stupid plan. It was stupid to come here alone in the first place. But he was not going to admit to them that they were right.

He wondered about the quiet shop, nodding to the guy behind the counter when he caught his eye, but this wasn’t the kind of place people started conversations with anyone who wasn’t a regular, and Nico was quietly grateful for that. Still annoyed at how useless he was being, he realised he was going to have to buy something and went to the fridges at the back of the shop. A can of coke wouldn’t cause any need for conversation.

“Afternoon.”

Nico spun around, surprised by the voice, but the shop keeper wasn’t talking to him. He was talking to the customer who had just walked into the shop.

“Afternoon.”

Nico stumbled back into the fridges. He knew that voice. He couldn’t see the man’s face, but he knew the voice. He was shaking his head, even though neither of the two other men were looking at him – a fact Nico was grateful for seeing as he was acting like an idiot.

There was still a chance all this was nothing, of course. There was still a perfectly reasonable explanation for this.

“How’s the guest?” the shop keeper asked.

“Demanding as always,” Toto said. “And when I try to say no it is always _but I’m the kidnap victim_. It is a shame he isn’t the murder victim.”

It was true. There was no perfectly reasonable explanation. Toto had Lewis.

“And now we have Nico wanting to try to do something,” Toto said, wondering around the shop to collect the things he’d come in to buy. “Not that I think he will, of course.”

Toto had been stopping him from finding Lewis, Nico realised. Toto was behind this whole thing and he’d been asking him for _help_.

He followed Toto’s voice around the shop, trying to stay out of sight. There wasn’t much of a place to hide and he just had to prey Toto had no need for milk.

“He still doesn’t know, then?” the shop keeper asked.

“No,” Toto said. “It is not something he needs to know.”

Nico bit his lip, trying to keep himself calm. He was going to need to do something. He was going to need to do something now…

“People are saying things are going to kick off with Räikkönen,” the shop keeper said.

“Maybe they will,” Toto said. “We will have to wait and see.”

“I hope for your sake it doesn’t,” the shop keeper said. “That’s seven ninety eight.”

“It will not be too bad,” Toto said. “If we all keep our heads down we will get through it.”

“It’s easier said than done though,” the shop keeper said. “Anyway, I’ll see you later.”

The bell above the door to the shop rang and then there was silence again. Nico darted out of the shop, glad to see Toto was already making his way up the street, and followed him. The sick was still rising in his throat, but he swallowed hard, keeping himself silent so as to not attract unwanted attention.

With tears in his eyes, Nico watched Toto go into a house towards the end of the street. That was it. That was where Lewis was.


	46. In which Fernando tells a story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a relatively long chapter (relative to all the others). Sorry about that.

Almost as soon as Kimi and Sebastian had taken off their coats, someone was knocking on the door. Kimi didn’t try to hide the groan but, when Sebastian tried to get up to answer it, he pushed the German back onto the sofa and got up himself.

“Who is it?” Sebastian asked before Kimi could even answer the door.

Kimi rolled his eyes, but refrained from giving Sebastian a sarcastic answer and opened the door to answer the question.

“Fernando?”

The Spaniard smiled weakly, standing in the drizzling rain and waiting to be invited inside.

To say Kimi was surprised to see the barman was a bit of an understatement. Fernando’s specialities were never being seen away from the bar, even in shops, and keeping his nose out of everything. Kimi didn’t even know how he got the address. Without saying anything else, he stepped back to let Fernando inside.

Fernando stood just inside the doorway, a little shocked at how tidy things were. Sebastian looked between Kimi and Fernando, confused, and, once he was over the shock of the lack of mess, Fernando gave him the same confused look.

“Why are you here?” Kimi asked. He figured it must have been important if it had prompted Fernando to leave his lair when he should have been preparing for the night’s custom.

“Am actually here about the hit and run,” Fernando said.

“We are looking for Lewis now,” Kimi said, but he didn’t really know why Fernando would be inquiring into that, other than the fact everybody was inquiring into that at the moment.

“Well, is not really about the hit and run,” Fernando said, still glancing down at Sebastian, who was watching closely. “Is about Felipe Massa.”

Kimi’s eyebrows rose, but he said nothing, crossing his arms and sitting on the back of the sofa, waiting for Fernando to continue.

Fernando squirmed under their gaze, not sure how he should say this. “I knew him. Before he came here.”

He watched Kimi’s face for change of facial expression, but he didn’t get any. He wasn’t entirely sure what he had been expecting.

“I helped him come here,” Fernando continued, slowly. “Helped him run away.”

“Did Smedley ask you to come here?” Kimi asked before Fernando could explain any further.

“Who?”

“Rob Smedley,” Kimi repeated. “Massa’s partner.”

“Ooooooh,” Sebastian said, slowly, things from the day before finally clicking into place.

Fernando frowned at Sebastian, waiting for an explanation for the ‘oh’ but Kimi ignored him.

“Well?”

“Said he had told you what happened,” Fernando said. “Wanted me to tell you what happened. I was there. I was his best friend.”

“You were there?” Kimi asked.

Fernando nodded. “I can tell you what really happened, if you want?”

“I think you had better.”

 

“You _are_ coming this time,” Fernando said. “Come on, it’s my birthday.”

Felipe had missed far too many nights out for Fernando’s liking. They were supposed to be best friends but it felt like he hardly ever even saw Felipe anymore.

“She said no, Nando,” Felipe said, quietly. “You know what she is like.”

“But it’s my _birthday_ ,” Fernando insisted again, as if that meant anything. “Let me talk to her. I bet I can convince her to change her mind.”

“No,” Felipe said quickly.

Fernando frowned. “Why not? You do not think I could steal her away from you that easily, do you?”

Felipe sighed. He was going to have to tell Fernando. “She does not like you.”

“I _know_ ,” Fernando said, missing the point entirely. “She likes you Felipe, I know. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“No, I mean, she does not even _like_ you,” Felipe said. He really wished he didn’t have to spell this out to him. He really wished he didn’t even have to say it. Why couldn’t Fernando just leave him alone and move on with his life? “She does not like me talking to you.”

“That’s stupid,” Fernando said. “I’m your best friend.”

“I know,” Felipe said. He’d already had this argument. He’d already had this argument a number of times. It always ended the same way.

 _You care about him more than you do me_.

That wasn’t where it finished now, though. Now she had a new line.

_You care about him more than you do about our baby._

That wasn’t true. It wasn’t. He’d been trying to break off contact with Fernando to try to convince her, but Fernando kept coming back.

“Let me talk to her,” Fernando said. “Am sure I can convince her. I’m not that bad, am I?”

“Please don’t,” Felipe said, quickly. He glanced around, but the street was deserted. He was going to get in enough trouble for this alone if she ever found out. “Please, just leave me alone.”

“But Felipe?”

“No, Fernando,” Felipe insisted, turning back around to head home. He’d been pushing his luck for too long already.

“Felipe, wait,” Fernando grabbed his arm, making Felipe yelp a little as he pulled it away. There were tears of pain in his eyes and Fernando hurried to walk alongside him. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“Is nothing,” Felipe insisted.

“Did I hurt you?”

“Is nothing,” Felipe said again. “Please, Nando, leave me alone.”

“You are hurt,” Fernando said, taking Felipe’s hand and pulling him to a stop. Felipe didn’t look at Fernando as he took Felipe’s arm and rolled up the sleeve of the shirt he was wearing. Fernando had thought it odd Felipe was wearing long sleeves in this weather as it was, but had just assumed Felipe was more used to the warmth than he was. Now, he was sure that wasn’t the reason. The reason probably had something to do with the burn marks that stretched up his forearm. “And this is nothing?”

“Yes,” Felipe said. “It is just an accident.”

“What kind of accident?” Fernando asked. It was worse than any burn Fernando had given himself cooking.

“Nothing,” Felipe said, pulling his arm away. He was watching a couple who lived down the street turn onto the corner.

Fernando frowned, following his gaze, but he didn’t know why Felipe would be bothered about them. When he turned back to Felipe, the Brazilian was gone.

 

It was over a month later than Fernando saw Felipe again. He’d tried to get him to come to the birthday drinks, but he hadn’t even gotten a chance to speak to him, unable to get past _the wife_.

_He’s not feeling too good today. Might be contagious. Better not come in._

_He’s busy today. Putting the baby cot together._

_He can’t come out tonight. We’ve made plans._

Fernando had given up in the end. If Felipe wanted to spend time with him, he would, Fernando figured.

The burn was still bugging him, though. He would have had to have leant on whatever burnt him for a long time. Nobody did that. You snatched your hand away as soon as you felt how hot it was.

It didn’t make sense.

Neither did, after an entire month of silence, Felipe banging on his front door in the middle of the night.

Fernando frowned, but Felipe didn’t bother to give an explanation as he hurried inside, holding his hand to his chest.

“I need help,” Felipe said, showing Fernando his hand. At least two of the fingers were bent the wrong way.

“What happened?” Fernando asked, going into the kitchen to find the first aid kit.

“It was an accident,” Felipe insisted.

“What. Happened,” Fernando said again. He wasn’t going to let him go this time.

“It was nothing,” Felipe said. “She just got angry. She didn’t mean to.”

“Who, Felipe?” Fernando asked.

Felipe’s eyes dropped to the floor. He didn’t speak as Fernando straightened the broken fingers and taped them to splints. When he eventually looked up at Fernando again, there were tears in his eyes. Fernando couldn’t be sure if that was from the pain in his hand or something else.

“It was her, wasn’t it?” Fernando said. “It was Raffaela?”

Felipe nodded.

“I told you she was trouble,” Fernando said. “Didn’t I? She never lets you go out and now she does this.”

“It was an accident,” Felipe said again. “She just got angry. She _did not mean to_.”

“It doesn’t matter why she did it,” Fernando said. “And the burn last month?”

“I was cooking,” Felipe mumbled. “My hand slipped.”

“I don’t believe you,” Fernando said. “Felipe, you can’t stay there.”

“Do you think I do not know this?” Felipe snapped. “Where else do I go, though? She is carrying my child. Cannot just leave them. What if she does this to him or her as well? I cannot just leave, Fernando.”

“You have to tell someone,” Fernando said. “Go to the police or something.”

Felipe shook his head. “No, it’s my fault. Cannot let her get in trouble because I was being stupid.”

“How many times has this happened?” Fernando asked.

Felipe shrugged.

“Was the burn the first time?” Fernando asked.

Felipe shook his head.

“So it’s at least three times,” Fernando said. “How many times, Felipe?”

“I don’t know,” Felipe snapped. “Do not count, exactly. Have a tally chart in my head of how many times I have been an idiot.”

“This isn’t your fault,” Fernando said.

“Isn’t it?” Felipe asked. “Seems like it is my fault to me.”

 

It went on that way for months. Felipe would come to Fernando’s house in the middle of the night, always sporting a new bruise or broken finger or something worse. The visits were far too frequent for Fernando’s liking and, when he eventually managed to get Felipe to tell him what he had done to deserve them, they were petty, small things. He’d spent too long at the shops, he’d burnt the food, he’d been texting (something Fernando felt guiltier for. He’d been pestering Felipe about coming out for drinks, again.). They were stupid little misdoings, but Fernando couldn’t get it out of Felipe’s head that it was his fault.

“You cannot go on like this,” Fernando said one night, applying burn cream to an almost healed burn on Felipe’s arm. “What happens if she ever finds out about this?”

“She can’t,” Felipe said, quickly. “You’re not going to tell her, are you?”

“Of course not,” Fernando said. It was a stupid thing to even suggest.

“Then she will not find out,” Felipe said, wincing at the cream.

“Sorry,” Fernando mumbled. “But you need to leave her, Felipe. What about when I am not around anymore.”

Felipe narrowed his eyes, looking up at Fernando. “What do you mean ‘not around’? Where are you going?”

“They have offered me a job in England,” Fernando said, quietly. He’d been trying to figure out how to tell Felipe this for a while, waiting for the right time, but it was clear now that there never was going to be a right time. “I leave in a couple of months.”

“A couple of months?” Felipe repeated.

“A little more,” Fernando admitted. “Four months.”

“You cannot just leave me,” Felipe whispered, tears that had nothing to do with pain beginning to well in his eyes. “Fernando, you can’t just go.”

“Come with me,” Fernando suggested. “Leave her and come to England with me.”

“I cannot,” Felipe said again. “The baby.”

It would be nearly two months old when Fernando left. He couldn’t just leave a child. He _wouldn’t_ just leave a child. The baby had been the only thing keeping him going the past couple of months and he was not going to give that up. He was not going to make it feel unwanted.

And he was scared. If he was there, he would always be a target for her. When the anger got too much and she couldn’t cope anymore, _he_ would be the one she turned to. But if he wasn’t there, who else was?

“Then _tell_ someone,” Fernando said. “Go to the police or something. Please, Felipe. I am worried about you.”

Felipe shook his head again. “They will not believe me.” He knew that. She’d told him as much.

“I believe you,” Fernando said. “So why shouldn’t they?”

Felipe shrugged. “Please, Fernando, do not say anything.”

Fernando sighed, putting the cap back on the top of the burn cream. “Alright. But promise me you will do something”

“Ok,” Felipe said, quietly, but Fernando didn’t believe him.

 

The surprise party had not been Felipe’s idea.

He’d been at the hospital, with _her_ , the entire time. He wasn’t to know that the entire street thought it was a good idea to celebrate the birth of their son. He wasn’t to know his brother had managed to get the keys to their house and decorate the place from top to bottom in baby blue ribbons and “it’s a boy!” balloons.

Fernando had tried to tell them she wasn’t going to like it, but nobody had listened to him. He’d tried to warn Felipe what was going on, but he wouldn’t answer the phone.

So when the couple and their new born baby, who hadn’t stopped crying for more than two minutes since the moment he was born, arrived home, the surprise party was a surprise. But now a happy one.

“SURPRISE!”

Other than Felipinho’s constant crying, there was silence, as everyone waited for the happy exclamation from the couple, but it didn’t come. Felipe wanted to melt. He didn’t know how many times he had told them Raffaela didn’t want a surprise party, but it was clearly not enough for them to listen to.

The new mother looked as if she was going to explode.

Nobody paid attention to that.

Their next door neighbour, Sofia, was the first one to break the silence.

“Let me see him then,” she cooed, coming forward and holding out her hands to take the baby from his mother. “Come to Tia Sofia.”

Felipinho just wailed. Raffaela held him closer.

“Get out,” she whispered, the stress and how tired she was making her voice small.

“What?”

“Get out!” Raffaela screamed.

Felipe was the only one who wanted to leave. Nobody moved, not sure what to say.

“I take it this was your idea?” she turned on Felipe.

He spluttered, trying to explain that he had no idea what was going on but he couldn’t find the words to explain himself.

“Raffa,” Sofia tried, but it didn’t help.

“I thought I told you to get out,” Raffaela said through gritted teeth.

There were some mumbled apologies and everyone began to move towards the door.

“Don’t go,” Felipe said, quickly, and he knew the glare he was getting from the woman he loved was probably enough to kill right now, but he couldn’t help it. They couldn’t leave.

Fernando watched from the back of the room. The only reason he’d showed up was to stop Felipe being hurt, but it looked for a moment like he might not even have been needed.

“You both look shattered,” Dudu said. “We’ll go. Leave you to get settled in.”

“Don’t go, please,” Felipe said again.

“What’s the matter?” Sofia asked.

Fernando could feel the lump rising in his throat whilst he silently urged Felipe on. He wouldn’t meet his friend’s eye, scared he would find defeat there and Felipe wouldn’t say anything.

“Felipe?”

When Fernando looked up, Felipe was gone, racing out of the front door and not looking back. Fernando almost heaved. He hadn’t done it. Of course he hadn’t done it. He’d come back and it would be even worse now.

 

It was Dudu who went to find him. It was Dudu he told next. It was Dudu who was the first one to tell him he was being stupid.

“What do you mean, she hits you?” he laughed. “Raffa? Don’t be stupid. She couldn’t hurt a fly.”

“But she _does_ ,” Felipe said, and he wished Fernando were here now, if only so he could say “I told you so”.

“What do you do?” Dudu asked.

Felipe explained things to his brother as he explained them to Fernando, but he didn’t get the same reaction. He didn’t get any sympathy, just confusion and then hostility. He was lying. Of course he was lying. How could he be telling the truth? She loved him. She had a child with him, after all. When Felipe showed the bruises, they were met with more questions over what he’d done. His brother told him what he’d been telling Fernando all along. He deserved it. He was the one being stupid. He just had to get over it.

 

News travelled fast and it wasn’t long before everyone in the area knew what was going on. Nobody believed him, though, just like Felipe had told Fernando. Fernando did his best to stick up for him but, as his friend was still living with the woman who was supposed to love him, he couldn’t let on that Felipe had been coming to him.

His friend was in enough trouble as it was.

 

Felipe placed the passports on Fernando’s table a week before he was due to go to England. Fernando looked from the passports to Felipe, then back down at them. He immediately realised Felipe was taking up his offer of coming with him, but the second passport?

“I cannot leave Felipinho here,” Felipe said.

Fernando opened the passports and, sure enough, there was the photo and detail of the new born inside.

“How did you get this?”

“It came this morning,” Felipe said. “Sometimes it is good the postman is always late. Then she is already at work when he comes. We can come with you now, Fernando. If... if that is not a problem.”

It had only just hit him that there might be a problem. He had left it late – maybe too late – but there was no way he was leaving Felipinho here alone. He’d waited until he was sure they could both go before he said anything.

“Of course it’s not a problem,” Fernando said. “But… can you even take him out of the country without her consent?”

Felipe nodded. “I’m his father, Fernando. Am on the birth certificate and everything.”

“Are you sure?” Fernando asked.

Felipe opened his mouth to insist he was sure, but that wasn’t strictly true. He knew he would be able to get Felipinho out of the country. He was fairly sure he’d be able to get him into England too, with Fernando’s help. But what would happen when Raffaela found out, he didn’t know. He didn’t care. They would go into hiding. They’d find somewhere safe and stay there.

Fernando took the silence as a “no”.

“Felipe,” Fernando tried. “There will be people who will help you, in England. You’ll be able to get him from her once we’re there.”

“No,” Felipe said. “Either we both go or neither of us. I am not leaving him with her. I cannot risk it Fernando. Please.”

Fernando sighed and looked up at his friend. He’d never seen the desperation in his eyes before. It had never really _mattered_ before.

“I cannot stay here,” Felipe said, quietly. “Everyone thinks I am a liar, or mad. I need a fresh start, Fernando, where nobody knows about any of this. Please.”

Fernando looked down at the passports again, then nodded. “Alright. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Don’t thank me just yet,” Fernando said, quickly. “Let me get you safe first.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, just thought I'd let you know, in case there was any doubt what so ever, that I am 193% sure that Raffaela is in no way like this. Just so there is absolutely no doubt that I think she is a really nice person. I didn't really want to even put a name down, but it was pretty much impossible not to here.


	47. In which Sebastian believes Fernando, Nico comes up with a plan, and Rob doesn't cook dinner...

When Fernando finished his story, he fell silent. He couldn’t look at Kimi, or Sebastian, who was gaping at him from the sofa. He could feel both their gazes on him, waiting for more. But there was nothing more to tell.

“How long?” Kimi asked, finally finding his voice again.

Fernando shrugged. “Months. I knew about it for more than half a year. I don’t know how long it went on before then.”

“And this is true?” he asked. He didn’t know whether to believe Fernando or not. The Spaniard had never gotten involved with any of his business before. He had no reason to be lying. Rob had no reason to go to him, either, unless it was true.

But these things _didn’t happen_.

Fernando nodded.

“Then why didn’t anybody believe him?” Kimi asked.

“Because nobody saw it,” Fernando said. “Nobody saw the woman he had to live with. They saw the sweet, caring woman who decided she was the one who wanted to work after the baby was born because she loved her job. They didn’t see what he was like every night. If they had _seen_ they would have believed him.”

Kimi was silent again, trying to come up with another argument.

“It cannot be true,” he said, eventually.

“What?” Sebastian cried. “What do you mean?”

“I have met her,” Kimi said. “She would not do something like this.”

“Have you ever seen her angry?” Fernando said, shaking. He’d never really been able to defend Felipe before, but he was not going to let that happen again. “Have you? You do not know what she is like. And you are helping her. What happens when she is alone and Felipinho does something to annoy her?”

“She wouldn’t hurt a kid,” Kimi said.

“She hurt Felipe over _nothing_ ,” Fernando said.

“Kimi, you can’t help her,” Sebastian said, quietly. “Please don’t.”

Kimi sighed. The more he listened to them, the more they were right, but he couldn’t admit that.

“She had her child taken away from her,” he said.

“Ok, so maybe you help them sort something out,” Fernando said. “So that she is able to see Felipinho. But she cannot _have_ him, Kimi. Please, think about it.”

He looked between Sebastian and Kimi. Maybe the German would be better equipped to convince Kimi to see sense.

“I need to go,” Fernando said, quietly. “You know where to find me if you need me.”

He saw himself out, leaving Kimi and Sebastian in silence. Sebastian looked up at Kimi, trying to figure out how he much nagging it was going to take to convince him.

 

“Look what I drew with Daddy,” Felipinho cried, bouncing cheerfully into the previously silent house, finding Rob in the kitchen. He’d started chopping vegetables for dinner half an hour ago, but he’d gotten distracted and hadn’t gone back to them since.

Felipinho pushed the drawing under Rob’s nose.

“What is it?” Rob asked, too tired to sound enthusiastic.

Felipinho sighed. It was obvious. “It’s me and Valtteri on the moon, silly,” he said. “And that’s you and Daddy in a space ship.”

Rob looked at the drawing again, able to see now that it was indeed Felipinho and Valtteri on the moon.

“And Daddy wrote this for you,” Felipinho said, shoving another piece of paper at Rob. “What are we having for dinner?”

“I don’t know,” Rob said, looking down at the scrawl. “If you put your toys away, upstairs, I might take you to McDonalds.”

Felipinho raced up the stairs, leaving Rob to look at the scrawl.

_I should not have over reacted. I know you are just trying to help. I do not know what you can do to help, but you are trying. It is more than anybody else is doing. It is more than I expected you to do._

_It doesn’t matter if nobody else believes me. Because you do. You do magical things Rob and we will get through this, like you always say._

_I love you._

 

Nico watched the house from the end of the street for a little while, trying to come up with an answer to the _what to do next_ problem. He couldn’t go in there. Not on his own. He didn’t know who else he could go to though. Toto was always the first port of call, but he wasn’t an option anymore. Kevin already had enough to do and there was no point calling him in to help. Jenson would be no good either.

The thought that he should probably tell someone where he was briefly crossed his mind, but it was swept away by the millions of other thoughts that gushed through his brain so quickly he didn’t have time to properly consider it.

There was always Kimi.

Nico wanted to do this alone. He didn’t want to have to rely on the Finn, like his father knew he would have to. But Kimi got things sorted out. He would know what to do.

A jumbled up plan formed. He would go to see what Kimi would do, then renact the plan himself. The Finn didn’t need to know he’d _found_ Lewis. It would be hypothetical. What _would_ you do? He would have a plan, of sorts. Whether he told Nico about it or not was a different matter, but it was worth a try,

Anything was worth a try right now.

Nico ran his own plan through his head over and over again. There was a good chance Kimi would do something Nico wasn’t prepared to do. The Finn handled things very similar to how Keke liked to, and Nico was not going to go down that path. If that was the case, Nico wasn’t sure what his options were. He could always tell Kimi what he had discovered and let him sort it. He’d be proving, _again_ , that really the Finn should have been left in charge of Elevency without him getting a look in, but it was better that then let people suffer.

When Nico reached Kimi’s house he practically dived out of the car to the door. He didn’t know why he was in such a rush. Lewis had lasted this long with Toto, and the way Toto had been talking to the shop keeper, it _sounded_ like he was fine. He could last a couple of seconds longer. But Nico rushed anyway, hammering on the door until Sebastian answered it.

For a moment, Nico was surprised to find the German there, then he remembered what Sebastian had told him yesterday and things made sense again.

“I need to speak to Kimi,” Nico said, quickly.

“He isn’t in,” Sebastian said. He shouldn’t even have been opening the door. Kimi had given him a lecture before he left – which Sebastian had found almost comical given Kimi’s dislike of long speeches – about being safe and not being kidnapped, but Nico’s hammering had been hard to ignore.

“Where is he?” Nico asked.

“The Halfway Houses,” Sebastian said. “He needed to talk to Rob.”

It hadn’t taken much convincing in the end. It was hard to deny it had happened when Fernando had explained in such detail. Kimi didn’t _want_ it to be true but, as Sebastian had pointed out, a lot of people didn’t _want_ a lot of things to be true, and it was better Kimi suck up his ego and go to apologise to Rob and Felipe than ruin a child’s life.

“Why?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Sebastian said. He’d already told Nico enough things he didn’t feel comfortable sharing. There didn’t need to be another.

Nico huffed, but he knew he couldn’t tell Sebastian _why_ it was so important he speak to Kimi. “Do you know when he’ll be back?”

“No,” Sebastian said, simply.

“Do you mind if I wait?” Nico asked. “It’s important.”

Sebastian sighed. Kimi was going to moan if he came back to find Nico there. But if it really _was_ important.

“Fine,” he said, standing back to let Nico in. “You’ll have to excuse the mess…”

 

“Are your toys put away?” Rob called up the stairs.

“ _Nearly_ ,” Felipinho called back.

Rob frowned, wondering how much he actually had out up there that required him to spend that long putting them away. No doubt he’d gotten distracted…

“Do you think that Fernando went to see Räikkönen?” Valtteri asked.

Rob shrugged. “I think he wanted to help,” he said. “He said he would try. I don’t know what good it’s done.”

He could only hope that he would believe someone completely unrelated to Felipe now. Fernando had no reason to lie to him, and Kimi was a logical person. He would come round, Rob hoped.

“I hope it has helped you both,” Valtteri said.

“Thank you,” Rob said, quietly, smiling down at the floor. If Valtteri were a hugger, he would be swamped by now.

“I should get going,” Valtteri said.

“Come with us,” Rob suggested.

“No, it is fine,” Valtteri said.

“What have you got to go home for?” Rob asked. “Come on, come to McDonalds with us. I’ll pay.”

Valtteri smiled sheepishly. “Alright then. But I am not going into the play area after Pea.”

“Damn it, my plan ruined,” Rob said, grinning at the blush in Valtteri’s cheeks. “Come on, Pea, or McDonalds will be closed by the time we get there.”

There was a little scurry as Felipinho stopped playing with whatever it was that he wasn’t supposed to be playing with and carried on throwing toys into his toy box.

Before he was finished, there was a knock at the door. Rob groaned quietly, but answered it anyway.

“Kimi?”

Kimi didn’t even need to say anything for Rob to stand back and let him inside. He looked between Rob and Valtteri, physically swallowing to try to swallow his pride like Sebastian had told him to. He didn’t think he was going to be let back into the house until he had done this.

“You went to Alonso,” Kimi said, starting with the first thing that came to mind.

Rob nodded, not sure if this was a good thing or not. It meant Fernando had gone to talk to Kimi. That couldn’t be a bad thing, could it?

“He came to talk to me,” Kimi said. “He spoke a lot of sense.”

“Really?” Rob asked. He hoped that meant what he thought that meant.

Kimi nodded. “I am… I am sorry I did not believe you before.”

“You believe him?” Rob asked, looking for clarification because he wasn’t going to let himself believe it until he got it.

Kimi nodded. “He spoke a lot of sense.”

Rob was practically beaming. Kimi hadn’t expected that kind of reaction. He wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he _was_ expecting, but it hadn’t been that.

“You’re going to help us?” Rob asked.

“I will do my best to make sure nothing happens,” Kimi said. “Is not really my place to step in, but I have already done enough damage.”

“Thank you,” Rob said. “Thank you so much.”

“Is nothing,” Kimi said, quickly. “Anyway, I should leave you to get on.”

Valtteri wouldn’t have been surprised if Rob had invited Kimi to McDonalds too, he was so excited.

Felipinho started to come down the stairs just as Kimi was leaving. He stopped near the top, watching Kimi leave.

“What’s wrong?” he asked. Why would the man need to come here unless something was wrong?

“Nothing, Pea,” Rob said, grinning at him. “For once, nothing is wrong. Come on, let’s go.”


	48. In which Kimi tells Nico what to do and Nico doesn't want to do it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is another short chapter (they're getting shorter and shorter, I know.) Sorry.

Sebastian and Nico both jumped up when they heard the door open. Neither had said much to the other, Sebastian offering tea and coffee and Nico refusing being the beginning and end of their conversation. Kimi came in and stopped immediately. He’d tidied up when Sebastian came home, but this was different. This was _too_ tidy. He looked up at the two Germans who had tidied up the living room.

“What is he doing in here?” he asked.

“He came to talk,” Sebastian said. “I didn’t know what else to do. He said it was important.”

“It is,” Nico said, quickly. “It’s about Lewis.”

“I am _looking_ for Lewis,” Kimi said, unable to see why Nico was so focused when he hadn’t even _liked_ Lewis before the hit and run.

“And what will you do when you find him?” Nico asked.

“I do not think this is much to do with you,” Kimi said. “Unless you do not trust me?”

“That’s stupid. Of course I trust you,” Nico lied. “But I do not see what you could do when you find him.”

“I talk to who has him,” Kimi said. “Talking rather than kidnapping, Rosberg. It gets a lot done.”

“That wasn’t me,” Nico said, quickly. “ _I_ didn’t even want him here.”

“Yes, you said,” Kimi said. He’d grown tired of that argument. It was in the past and he’d learned his lesson from it – mostly to not give Rosberg any advice in future.

“So you would talk to them?” Nico asked, trying to keep on subject. “And what would you say, exactly: _please can we have Lewis back_?”

“If I thought they did not have a good reason for taking him,” Kimi said.

Nico snorted. “What kind of ‘good reason’ could they have?”

“People are strange, Nico. I do not know everybody’s reasons for doing things,” Kimi said. He looked down at Sebastian, who smiled weakly, still trying to convince Kimi he’d done the right thing by believing the story Fernando had told. “But I am willing to listen before I make up my mind as to whether it is good or not.”

Nico huffed, angrily. This was no help. This was the exact opposite of help. “Fine, alright then.” He was going to have to come up with something himself, although he couldn’t even begin to think what. “Thank you for clearing that up.”

 

“Felipe will be coming home soon, the nurses were saying,” Valtteri said.

“Yeah,” Rob said, watching Felipinho in the play area through the glass window. He picked at the meat that was being classed as food, not eating really. “Yeah, they said the other day.”

“And you are not happy about this?” Valtteri asked. Rob had been beaming when they left, but something had made him close down again, and he was quiet and thoughtful as he listened to Felipinho jabber on about nothing.

“No, I am,” Rob said. He didn’t know why he felt like this. Everything was going right for once. He should have been happy. “I am.”

“You do not look it,” Valtteri observed. “What is the matter?”

“I don’t know,” Rob said, putting down the “burger” and looking up at Valtteri. He shrugged, trying to come up with an answer, but there really was nothing there. “I don’t know. I want to get back to normal. I want to get back to how things were. And we are. I don’t know why I’m like this.”

He smiled weakly, just to show he wasn’t upset.

“You are scared?” Valtteri asked.

“What do I have to be scared of?” Rob asked, even though he had an ever growing list in his mind that he was worried about and he had done for a very long time.

“About Pea’s mother, and about Felipe being different with you, and about you being different with Felipe,” Valtteri listed. “Being different with the other people at Halfway Houses.”

“Nothing’s going to change,” Rob said. “We’ll go back to how we were before.”

Valtteri nodded. “I am sure that is true,” he said. “But you are still worried about it.”

He was right, Rob hated to admit. When he thought about it, he knew Valtteri was right.

“I won’t let things chance,” he said.

“And you are worried that you will fail at that,” Valtteri added.

“When did you get to know me so well?” Rob asked with a grin, but the smile was just to convince Valtteri he wasn’t annoyed at him.

Valtteri shrugged. “I notice a lot of things, Rob. You are just not paying attention.”

“Sorry,” Rob said, quietly, but Valtteri just waved it away. Before he could say anything, Felipinho came bursting out of the play area, panic clear on his face.

“She’s here, Rob,” he cried, jumping onto Rob’s lap and watching the door. “I saw her through the window. I didn’t say anything I promise. I came and told you. Please don’t be angry.”

“Calm down, Pea,” Rob laughed, shifting Felipinho so he was sat properly. “Who’s here?”

“The lady.”

 

Nico gulped as he came to a stop in Backfor again. He could see the house from the car, inconspicuous amongst all the other houses. Talking. Would talking really work?

There was only one way to find out, of course, but if it didn’t work then there was no way of going back.

The entire journey here he had been trying to come up with another way to get Lewis out, but there was nothing. If he could just think straight, he’d probably find he knew someone who would be able to get Lewis out, but if he couldn’t trust Toto then he didn’t think he could trust any of the other people in his contacts.

And he really couldn’t think straight.

Nico got out the car, took a deep breath of the air (fresh wasn’t really the right word), then slammed the door shut.

The street was deserted. Nico got the feeling this was the kind of place where the streets were always deserted in the day. It definitely wasn’t the kind of place he’d want to be out in at any time of day.

Somehow, he managed to get his feet to walk towards the house. The house where Lewis was. Somehow, he managed to get to get to the house without running off or changing his mind. Somehow, he managed to knock on the door.

There was a couple of moments between knocking the door and it being opened. He could have run away then. As soon as the thought occurred to him, Nico stepped back, away from the door, and made to sprint back to the car, then the door opened, and he stopped.

“Nico?”

Talking. Just talking.

Nico looked up at Toto, who had answered the door and was now looking down at him, with a confused smile on his face.

“What are you doing here?”

“I know you have Lewis,” Nico said. “We need to talk.”


	49. In which Nico confronts Toto and Rob confronts the lady

Less than half a minute after Felipinho burst in, his mother walked through the restaurant doors, looking over the mass of half filled tables before finding Rob, Valtteri, and Felipinho and coming over. She offered Felipinho a warm smile, but Felipinho curled closer into Rob.

The smile was turned to Rob and Valtteri, but neither of them returned it. She sat in the empty seat beside Valtteri.

“I don’t think we’ve met,” she said. “I’m…”

“Know who you are,” Valtteri muttered.

“Right,” the woman said, looking down at her lap, embarrassed. “I’m sorry,” she said, quietly, looking up at Rob. “For the other day, I mean. I guess Felipinho told you.”

“Sorry?” Rob asked. “You nearly scared Hanna to death. What is wrong with you?”

“He’s my _son_ ,” she fell back on, again. “I mean, I’m sorry… I mean, I just miss him. I’ve been missing him for _five_ _years_. I know you don’t understand how hard that is, but can you try? Please. I just wanted to spend time with him.”

“You don’t deserve to spend time with him,” Rob snapped, holding Felipinho tighter as if she might snatch the child from him there and then. “After what you did.”

“What _I_ did?”

“Felipe remembers,” Rob said. “He remembers what you did, and so does Fernando.”

“Fernando Alonso?” the woman said. “He had it in for me as soon as I started going out with Felipe. He’ll be the same with you, if you don’t watch out.”

“I know what you did,” Rob hissed. He looked down at Felipinho, then turned to Valtteri. “Can you watch him?”

“Of course,” Valtteri said.

“What’s wrong?” Felipinho asked.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Rob said, before the woman could jump in and start with her lies. “I just need to talk to the lady, ok?”

“Rob?” Felipinho asked again, taking Valtteri’s hand when he offered it.

“It’s ok,” Rob said, standing. “I’ll be back soon, alright.”

“I’ll see you later, sweetie, ok?” the woman said, waving to Felipinho as she stood, but he just glared at her.

When they were outside, Rob pulled her out of sight of the door, making sure Felipinho couldn’t see. She pulled her hand away, disgusted.

“Felipe told me everything,” Rob snapped.

“He told you what he tried to tell people back home when Felipinho was born,” the woman said, crossing her arms. “Fernando got it into his head that _I_ was bad, and that he needed to get away from me. But he didn’t want to leave Felipinho. Nobody believed him then, and I don’t know why you’re believing him now.”

“Because I know him.”

“You know the person he’s been telling you about,” the woman said. “I thought I knew him when I married him. Look at me know.”

“You thought he would just be submissive and let you do what you wanted,” Rob said. “You didn’t realise how much he actually cared about Felipinho. How much he still cares about Felipinho. We are _not_ letting you have him.”

“I don’t think that’s up to you to decide,” the woman said. “They have courts, in this country, don’t they?”

“Like anybody would let him live with you,” Rob hissed.

“Well, we’ll see what we have to say, won’t we?” she said, making to go past Rob and back into the restaurant, but he stopped her.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m saying goodbye to my son,” the woman hissed, pulling her arm away from Rob again and heading inside.

 

“Will Rob make her leave us alone?” Felipinho asked, quietly, having taken Rob’s chips as his own whilst they waited.

“He will try, I think,” Valtteri said, fiddling with the plastic toy Felipinho had been given in his _Happy Meal_. “Don’t worry.”

“If Rob was magic, he could just zap her away,” Felipinho said.

“He could, couldn’t he,” Valtteri said, not entirely sure what the right answer for that was.

“I wish Rob was magic,” Felipinho said, quietly, twisting the chip in his fingers. “Then he could zap the lady away and zap Daddy better and we could all be happy again, like before.”

“You will be happy again, like before,” Valtteri said. “We will make that happen.”

Felipinho smiled up at him, then took the toy from his hands and started playing with it, only to grab Valtteri’s arm a few seconds later. Valtteri tensed, then saw why Felipinho had hold of his arm.

“I just came to say goodbye,” the woman said, smiling down at Felipinho.

“Goodbye?” he asked.

“Not for long,” she said. “Remember, you get to come and live with me soon?”

“I don’t want to live with you,” Felipinho said, still clutching Valtteri’s arm with one hand but with the fingers of his other hand in his mouth now. “I want to stay with Daddy and Rob.”

Valtteri could see the woman’s stomach roll in the way her face fell, tears beginning to fill her eyes.

“But I’m mummy, remember?” she asked, her voice shaking.

Felipinho nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“Don’t you want to live with mummy?”

Felipinho shook his head, shuffling closer to Valtteri.

“But… but why not?” the lady asked, trying to stop herself from crying.

“You’ve said goodbye,” Rob said, appearing behind her. “Come on, Pea, we’re going home.”

Felipinho didn’t even bother mentioning that Rob hadn’t even finished his food, taking hold of Rob’s hand tightly and letting himself be lead out of McDonalds. The lady followed behind, still trying to talk to Felipinho. She grabbed his arm, pulling them to a stop, and Rob picked him up.

“You have said goodbye,” he said, though gritted teeth. “We are going home.”

“You wait,” the woman hissed. “You wait until the courts tell you he has to come home with me. Then let’s see how unsympathetic you are.”

She stood on her toes to kiss Felipinho’s cheek, but he turned away. Valtteri watched her heart break, but he could not find a way to be sympathetic.

 

“I do not know what you are talking about, Nico,” Toto said, his arms folded. He still hadn’t let Nico into the house, and they were both stood on the front door step, waiting for the other to give up first.

“I _know_ you have him,” Nico said, trying to keep himself calm. He wasn’t backing down. “I heard you talking in the shop, earlier.”

“I think you need to calm down,” Toto said, taking a step outside and closing the door behind him. “You must be imagining things.”

“I’m not imagining anything,” Nico hissed, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly to stop himself from raising his voice. “Let me in so we can talk.”

“I am taking you home,” Toto said. “You cannot drive in this state. I will take you back to Jenson. He has been phoning about you all day.”

“No,” Nico snapped, flinching away from Toto’s touch. “No, we need to talk.”

“Whatever you think you heard, you have imagined it, Nico,” Toto said. “Remember when you were a child and you thought your friends had plans to leave you out of the games.”

“This is different,” Nico said. He did remember that. He remembered it quite well. He had been as paranoid as a child as he was now, but this was different. He was not making this up.

“I do not think it is, Nico,” Toto said, locking the front door behind him and walking past Nico, out of the small, brick front garden. He waited at the gate for Nico to follow, but the German wasn’t moving.

He was _not_ making this up.

“I think you need to go home, Nico,” Toto said, quietly. “Maybe we should talk to Räikkönen again. You are obviously not coping with this very well.”

“I’m coping fine,” Nico lied. “But maybe we should go and talk to Räikkönen. What will he say when I tell him you have Lewis?”

“Probably that you need to calm down,” Toto said. He still stood on the other side of the gate, waiting to lead Nico away.

“I don’t… I am fine,” Nico snapped again. “I am perfectly fine. I just want to talk to you. I want you to explain to me why you took Lewis, and why you have been lying to me.”

Toto sighed and came back through the gate. Nico gulped, brushing away tears with the back of his hand.

“We’ll go inside and talk then,” Toto said.

“You’re admitting it?” Nico asked.

“No,” Toto said. “But you are convinced and I do not want you out on a street like this yelling about it. No good will come of that.”

He brushed past Nico again to open the door and show him inside.

There was no sign of Lewis in the front room, not that Nico expected there to be. He wasn’t sure what he really expected, because he hadn’t been expecting the one person he’d trusted all his life to be a liar and working against him.

“Would you like something to drink?” Toto asked, offering Nico a seat at the same time.

Nico didn’t sit. He didn’t move from where he was stood at the door, watching Toto and waiting for Lewis to jump out of something.

“Check the house, if you like Nico, he isn’t here,” Toto said.

“Alright then,” Nico snapped, marching past Toto into the rest of the house. He went through each room and up the stairs to check the bedrooms too. There was no sign that anybody lived here, even Toto. There was definitely no sign of Lewis. Each room was spotless and featureless, the walls still smelling of paint from the last make over. Nico stopped in one of the bedrooms. Lewis wasn’t here. He’d been sure of it. He’d _heard_ Toto say…

“Nico,” Toto said, quietly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Let me take you home.”

“Where is he?” Nico asked. “I know you have him.”

“I know this must be hard for you, Nico, but I do not know where he is,” Toto said, leading Nico out of the bedroom and down the stairs.

“What are you doing here?” Nico asked.

“We are looking at safe houses,” Toto said. “We think maybe things will begin to get heated and we are looking for places to keep you safe.”

“Why would things kick off?” Nico asked.

Toto shrugged. “You said yourself you do not trust Räikkönen.”

“You think things are going to get worse?” Nico asked, a little worried.

Toto shook his head. “I think we can keep this under control. Everything will get better when we find out where Lewis is. But I think it will be better if we have a backup plan, in case Räikkönen does do something stupid.”

_Everything will get better when we find out where Lewis is._

He had to be here. There was nowhere else he could be. Kevin had said something was going on around here and Toto in the shop and…

He didn’t make it up. He couldn’t have made it up.

“Come on,” Toto said, going to leave the house again. “You are not yourself at the moment. Maybe you should leave all this to Kevin and Räikkönen.”

Nico shook his head. “I need to help. I am the one who is in charge here. Not Kevin. And I am not going to prove Räikkönen right. I am fine, Toto. I am.”

Toto didn’t look like he believed him, and Nico couldn’t really blame him. He had just accused one of the few people actually on his side of having caused this whole problem.

“Sorry,” he said, quietly, knowing what Toto must be thinking. “I heard some things. I must have gotten the wrong end of the stick.”

He was going mad was what was happening, not that he could admit that.

“It’s fine,” Toto said. “We all make mistakes.”


	50. In which Rob makes tea and Kimi makes a mistake...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas guys. :)

“You’re still here?” Rob asked, surprised, when he came down from putting Felipinho to bed to find Valtteri still sat in his usual spot in the kitchen.

“Have missed the last bus,” Valtteri said.

“Sorry,” Rob said. He knew he shouldn’t have made him come to McDonalds, but he wanted to say thank you. It wasn’t exactly as if he’d had the chance at the restaurant though. “I could drive you back, if you like. Or do you want to stop in the spare room?”

The Finn sometimes stopped round, frequently over the last couple of weeks, to take over the out of hour’s phone line or so he could be there early if Rob needed him. It was probably the most useful thing anyone had ever done for him. And another thing he had to say thank you for.

“I could stay if you needed me to,” Valtteri said. The truth was he didn’t want to leave Rob on his own like this. It had been different before. There was nothing Rob could do to help Felipe then and he knew it. Now, he was going to have to _try_ to do something about it, and Valtteri was worried he would forget the rest of his life existed. Rob did that sometimes.

“Tea?” Rob asked.

Smiling at the familiarity, Valtteri nodded and stayed in his seat whilst his friend made the tea.

“Thank you, Valtteri,” Rob said, quietly. “For helping. I mean, I don’t know what I would have done…”

“It is alright,” Valtteri said, his cheeks beginning to burn with embarrassment. He hadn’t even done anything. Not really. “You would have figured it out eventually.”

“I doubt it,” Rob muttered. “I don’t know what to do at all anymore.”

“You will get a lawyer and you will solve this like you always do,” Valtteri said. “You are not the one hurting anybody and you are not the one kidnapping children…” He paused and realised that wasn’t strictly true. “Not really. Anybody can see this.”

“What happened with you?” Rob asked. “With your mum and dad? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to but...”

Valtteri shook his head. “Nothing good came of it. It is not a happy story.”

“Oh,” Rob said, quietly. That filled him with hope.

“Is because he did not do anything about it,” Valtteri said. “If somebody had done something about it, then maybe it would have stopped. It is different to this. Felipe has you. And me, and Räikkönen now too. Things will work out.”

“Thank you,” Rob said again, putting a cup of tea down in front of Valtteri and sitting opposite him.

“You have already said this,” Valtteri said, trying to keep his blushing to a minimum.

“I mean it,” Rob said. “I don’t think you know how much you do.”

Valtteri grinned, proudly, down at his mug of tea, but didn’t say anything.

Rob couldn’t help but laugh at the way the Finn’s cheek’s tinged bright pink, which only made them glow more. The laughter didn’t last long, and they were back to sitting in silence in moments.

“You know Hanna doesn’t believe us,” he said, when he couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“You do not need Hanna to believe you,” Valtteri said. “She has enough of her own problems and it says more about her that she does not believe you than it does about you.”

Rob nodded. He knew this. Of course he knew this. But he couldn’t help but be a little annoyed by it. After everything he had done for Hanna and Sebastian, after being there whenever Hanna needed him, never asking for anything in return, he had thought Hanna would at least _try_ to be there for him in times like this. But no, of course not.

“Do not let her get to you,” Valtteri said, as if he were reading Rob’s mind. “She is young and stupid and does not understand.”

“I know,” Rob said, quietly. “But still…”

“It does not matter what they think,” Valtteri insisted. “The people that matter know that truth, and that is all that counts.”

 

“I’m proud of you,” Sebastian said, quietly, curling up on Kimi’s lap once they’d eaten.

“What for?” he asked.

“For apologising,” Sebastian said. “It takes a bigger man to say that they are wrong.”

“Are you still proud of me even though I apologised because you were being annoying?” Kimi asked.

“Annoying?” Sebastian asked, going still a moment. He looked up at Kimi and the Finn realised how stupid he had been.

“You’re not annoying,” he said, quickly.

“It’s ok, if I am,” Sebastian said. “You can tell me. I’m not going to jump off a cliff or something.”

“I don’t find you annoying,” Kimi insisted.

“Ok,” Sebastian said, even though he didn’t quite believe him. Why would Kimi say he was being annoying if he wasn’t? “But you have to tell me, though, if I am being annoying.”

“You’re not.”

“But if I am, you will tell me,” Sebastian insisted.

“If, for some strange reason, you ever annoy me, I will tell you,” Kimi promised.

He put his arm around the Sebastian and the German curled a little closer. Kimi couldn’t tell if he believed what he’d said about not being annoying. It had been a stupid thing to say, and he was going to have to watch himself. He should have known that.

“How is your head?” he asked.

Sebastian smiled up at him, sleepily. “It’s fine. Just like the last time you asked.”

Kimi smiled his thumb tracing the cut on Sebastian’s head. “You know this is what it will be like now,” he said, quietly. “When they have a problem with me, they will come for you.”

“I know,” Sebastian said. “I don’t care.”

Kimi look down at him. He knew how much Sebastian’s shining blue eyes hid, normally, and refused to believe that Sebastian wasn’t scared. Refused to believe that the grin on his face was an accurate representation of what he thought.

“I care,” Kimi said, tracing the cut again. “Maybe… maybe this is not such a good idea right now.”

Sebastian sat up, the grin gone. “What?”

“Right now,” Kimi said. “When the tension with Rosberg is so high. I do not want you getting hurt again, Seb. Maybe we should wait. Until after.”

“After what?” Sebastian asked.

“After I get everything sorted out,” Kimi said. “When I have found out who is doing this and why. Then we can do this. But not when Rosberg still thinks it is me doing this.”

“But he doesn’t,” Sebastian said, quickly. “He doesn’t. His dad just made a mistake, didn’t he?”

“A mistake that could have killed you,” Kimi pointed out. “And I do not know what is going on in Rosberg’s mind. I do not _want_ to know.”

“What are you saying, Kimi?” Sebastian asked.

“I do not think people should think we are together whilst all this is going on,” Kimi said.

“But I already told Rosberg,” Sebastian said.

“I know,” Kimi said, quietly. “I know.”

“So, what do we do?” Sebastian asked. The sparkle in his eyes was beginning to fade again.

“I think maybe you should stay with Dan,” Kimi said. “Until this is all over.”

Sebastian shook his head. “I am not leaving you, Kimi.”

“Dan lives three streets away,” Kimi said. “It is not as if you are going far away. Not even as far away as when you went off with Niki.”

“But that was different,” Sebastian said, even though he wasn’t not sure how that was in anyway different to this.

“You will be safer if Rosberg and everybody else thinks we are not together,” Kimi said. “I cannot lose you Sebastian. I am not going to let that happen.”

 

Toto pulled up outside Jenson’s house. The Brit was already making his way outside before Nico could even open the car door.

“I have been worried sick,” Jenson said, pulling Nico into a hug and not letting him go.

“I’m an adult, Jenson,” Nico mumbled, not hugging back.

“Yes,” Jenson said. “But Kevin said you went after someone who had Lewis and then you wouldn’t answer any of my messages and I thought something had happened to you.”

“All is well that ends well,” Toto said, shepherding the pair of them off of the street and inside.

“Did you find them?” Jenson asked, sitting with Nico in his small living room. “Did you find Lewis?”

Nico shook his head. He didn’t want to admit what he had thought. He didn’t want to admit all the stress was getting to him and he had actually gone mad.

“It’s ok,” Jenson said, sitting beside him. “You’ll get them soon, it’s ok.”

“I am going to go,” Toto said. “But I think I should come back in the morning to see how things are. I think we need to talk, but I think you are a little tired for that right now, Nico. In the morning?”

“Yes,” Nico said, doing his best to sound strong. “I will see you in the morning. Thank you.”

Jenson watched suspiciously as Toto left the house, pulling Nico closer to him. Something was wrong and maybe Nico would kill him if he ever found out, but Jenson was going to have to go to Räikkönen.


	51. Rob gets some good news and Kimi climbs some fences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another big thank you to everyone who's still reading this. :)

“Dan is not well,” Daniil said, trying to get Kimi and Sebastian to leave. It was too early in the morning for this and he just wanted to go to bed. “He cannot look after him.”

“I don’t need _looking after_ ,” Sebastian said. “I just need somewhere to stay.”

Daniil mentally groaned. He knew he wasn’t really going to stand here and argue with Räikkönen. He knew better than to do something so stupid. But he had told the doctors he would look after Dan and having Sebastian here really wasn’t doing that.

“We do not really have the room,” Daniil tried.

“Sofa,” Sebastian said. “Come on. I have nowhere else to go. Where is Dan, anyway?”

“Sleeping,” Daniil said. Like any normal person would be doing at this time in the morning.

“Please, Daniil,” Sebastian tried.

Kimi was leaving the talking to Sebastian this time. He trusted Dan, he reminded himself. There was still the nagging thought of whatever it was Dan and Sebastian had done, but that was once. It wasn’t going to happen again.

And there really was nowhere else. Kimi knew it was going to be impossible to try to convince Sebastian to go back to Hanna, and he had just as much chance of convincing Hanna to go along with the plan. Dan was the only other person Sebastian trusted.

“Fine,” Daniil said. “Is not really my decision, of course.”

“Right,” Sebastian said. “Thank you.”

“You will have to see for sure with him when he wakes up,” Daniil said. “I am not waking him up though. He is having enough trouble sleeping as it is.”

“Thank you,” Sebastian said quietly.

He had given up arguing with Kimi that this wasn’t needed. They’d spent most of the night before going around and around in circles and he wasn’t going to start again. It wasn’t that he thought Kimi was right. Not at all. But he was tired of arguing now.

“It will not be for long,” Kimi said.

“How long?” Daniil asked.

“As long as it takes,” Kimi said.

Before the Russian could try to pressure him for any more answers, Kimi’s phone started to ring. He groaned quietly but was then surprised to find Jenson’s name on the display.

“Hello?”

“You know you wanted me to tell you when Toto came?”

 

Nico had stayed the night at Jenson’s again. He couldn’t stand going back to his own house, sitting there alone in the silence. He was pretty sure it was being alone that had made his imagination wonder and he didn’t want that to happen again.

Toto had called around before Nico had even had a chance to freshen himself up, but Toto had seen him in much worse states than this and he was one of the few people Nico didn’t mind catching him like this.

Jenson had quickly gone off to make tea, leaving the two of them along.

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” Nico said again. It was the only thing he could think of to say.

“It is ok,” Toto insisted. “We all make mistakes. It is understandable, with the pressure that you are under. Do not be too hard on yourself.”

Nico sighed, his eyes flicking between Toto and the floor, unable to decide where to really look.

“I know you’re trying to help,” he said. “I know it isn’t easy either. I’m not being much help.”

“Have you thought any more about what I said?” Toto asked. “It might be a good idea to leave this to Räikkönen. Not because he is more capable, but because you are too close to Lewis. You cannot help him if you are not well mentally, Nico, and this is affecting you a lot more than you would like it to.”

“I cannot just leave this for Räikkönen to solve,” Nico said, sternly, looking up at Toto now. There was nothing but concern in the other man’s face. He wasn’t saying this to upset him, Nico knew. He really was trying to do what was best for Nico, but he didn’t understand. “If it were Sebastian, Räikkönen would already have found him by now. It is not a case of being too involved, Toto. I am weaker. I cannot let Räikkönen know that.”

He knew it was true. He’d known all along. That was the only reason his father had even considered putting anybody but a Rosberg in charge. Nico was weak. He wasn’t a leader and he couldn’t deal with problems like his father or Räikkönen.

Of course he knew all that, but he’d been given the power, and he could change things. He _wanted_ to change things. He wasn’t going to let that power be taken away from him.

“It is alright to admit you need help sometimes, Nico,” Toto said as Jenson brought the tea in.

“It isn’t though,” Nico said. “I will do this, Toto. I will solve it.”

Jenson gave Toto a polite smile as he handed him his mug of tea. Toto returned it, oblivious to the phone call Jenson had just made.

 

“Today?” Rob asked, surprised.

“Any time from now onwards,” Laura, the nurse, said, beaming. “We got the results back from the last of the checks last night and he’s good to go.”

Rob laughed a little, unable to believe that this really was all over. Or the hit and run was anyway. They still had a long way to go before they were all back to normal, but he would be glad to not have to come to the hospital every day. He was sick of these walls and everything that had happened inside them.

“Of course, he won’t be straight back to ‘normal’,” Laura warned, quoting the word normal with her fingers. “It will be a while before that. A care specialist can go through everything with you, if you like. But it shouldn’t be that bad. He’s managed to cope well with this one bouncing all over him, after all.”

The nurse smiled down at Felipinho, who was holding Rob’s hand tightly. He shuffled away from her a bit, making Laura laugh.

“It’s probably best to talk to someone,” Rob agreed.

“You can do that now, if you like,” Laura said. “Whilst you wait?”

Strictly speaking, it was half an hour before visiting hours began, but Rob had been hoping they would let him in before. He’d been here enough times that the most of the staff knew him by name. He didn’t think it would be that hard to get in early.

When he told Laura this, she laughed.

“The rules are there for a reason, Rob,” she said. “What’s the rush, anyway?”

“No reason,” Rob lied. “I just wanted to see him.”

He’d spent most of the night looking online at lawyers. He knew a few personally, but most of them dealt with criminal law rather than family and, whilst he could still ask them if he knew anyone, he felt more comfortable talking to a stranger. For some reason, it felt like strangers were more likely to believe them than their friends.

He hadn’t contacted anyone yet, not feeling that the middle of the night was a likely time for them to be in a good mood, and he wanted to run some things past Felipe before he did.

That and he hadn’t seen him in over a day. They needed to talk about what he had done.

“I’ll go and get the specialist to come and talk to you,” Laura said, still smiling. “Then you can go and see him.”

 

Kimi was waiting in the car a little way down the road from Jenson’s house when Toto came out. Nico was showing him out, in a much better state than he had been the day before. Even from here, Kimi could see that. He had no idea what had gotten the German worked up and made him come to his house, but it hadn’t been good. Probably something to do with Keke, Kimi mused. That was a mistake he wasn’t going to make again.

Toto walked away from the house and Kimi’s car, towards his own car that was parked on the quiet residential street. Kimi waited until it had started and Toto was on his way before following at what he considered a reasonable distance.

If somebody had asked him what made him think there was something wrong with Toto, he wouldn’t have been able to give them an answer. There was nothing he could put his finger on, other than the fact Toto spent a lot of time trying to work out Nico’s problems for him without any reason to do so. Without any _official_ reason. Kimi knew Toto had been there throughout Nico growing up, and probably cared about him a bit because of that. But Toto was far more involved than Kimi felt their relationship called for.

Maybe he was just making things up, but he didn’t like Toto.

That really was a stupid reason.

After a few minutes, Kimi noticed where they were heading. The streets were familiar from his late night visit not that long ago. Toto was taking him to Backfor, where Dan and Daniil supposedly spotted Lewis. It could have just been a coincidence, Kimi reminded himself, but he wasn’t a big believer in coincidences, especially when his gut feeling was already telling him something was wrong.

Backfor was a quiet area, with few people around in the day, making following Toto a little harder. It was strange enough there was one car on the roads, let alone two, but Kimi kept going anyway. There was no way he was giving up now.

Thankfully, Toto came to a stop not far into the Backfor area, on a street Kimi must have walked up and down about a dozen times on the night he’d followed up Dan and Daniil’s claim, but he’d found nothing then.

Kimi stopped as close to the corner as possible, ignoring the double yellow lines as everyone else did. He watched Toto climb out the car and disappear inside one of the houses. He didn’t have to knock, having the keys in his hands when he got out the car.

This was… wrong.

Toto shouldn’t even have had keys to somewhere in Elevency. He was working with Niki, on a project based very far from here. The only reason he was even in Elevency was to help Nico with his Lewis problem and, whilst it was perfectly believable Toto was staying in a house Nico owned, there was no way the German would own anything around here.

Kimi got out of the car, but didn’t follow Toto to the front door. The night’s wandering around here had given him a pretty good map of the area, and Kimi headed to one of the thin alley ways that lead between the houses and into the small back yards. The small areas of concrete were disconnected from each other by small wooden fences and, judging by the appearance of the fences, none were visited any more often than for a quick smoke.

Kimi climbed over the first fence quite successfully. The second and third fences went a lot less successfully, the first time slipping as he hit the floor (not technically the fence’s fault), and the second time catching a the hem of his jeans on the fence. He glanced around to see if anyone was looking and, even though nobody was, started to blush. Fence climbing was not one of his strong points.

The last two fences went reasonably well – without Kimi’s face hitting the floor – and he brushed himself down once he was in the yard of the house Toto had entered. The curtains on all the windows were drawn, the small little ‘garden’ not a view worth opening them for. The backdoor, when Kimi tried it, was locked, but a quick search found the key under an ash tray a nearby window ledge, and it wasn’t long before Kimi was inside.


	52. In which Dan and Seb talk and Felipinho bounces lots...

Sitting quietly was not much fun, and Dan had become bored with recovering from the car crash within a few hours. He liked to be up and out and _doing_ things, but instead he was inside, watching day time television.

Sebastian was on the sofa next to him, not entirely sure what to say. They hadn’t spoken since the car crash. Sebastian had _meant_ to come over and see if he was ok, but so much had happened and he was still a little worried about Dan blaming him, no matter how much Kimi told him it wasn’t his fault.

Daniil watched them from the other side of the room, pretending he was busy on his computer. Neither of them were looking at him and he could have stared at them for hours without them noticing.

“You are going to need to talk to each other,” Daniil said after they’d sat in silence for over an hour.

“How are you feeling?” Sebastian asked, even though that was a stupid question and it had been clear when his friend came in that he was in pain.

“Pretty good,” Dan said, smiling. “Looks like I should be asking that to you though, mate.”

He tapped the cut on Sebastian’s head that marked his visit from Keke. Sebastian smiled weakly. He didn’t want to have to talk about it. He didn’t really want to have to talk at all.

He glanced over at Daniil, hoping for some help from the Russian, but Dan completely misinterpreted the glance.

“I think we’re out of milk, Daniil,” he said.

Daniil looked up from where he was pretending to be working and frowned. Dan couldn’t have any idea how much milk they had.

“Yeah, you might want to do a shop or something,” Dan said, nodding down at Sebastian as if Sebastian couldn’t tell what he was doing.

“Oh, yes,” Daniil said, closing the computer and standing. “You are probably right.”

Sebastian groaned silently. There wasn’t going to be any getting out of this.

As soon as Daniil had closed the door behind him, Dan turned to Sebastian.

“What happened?”

“It was nothing,” Sebastian said, waving it away. “Just a mugging.”

“Someone mugged you?” Dan said. It was obvious he didn’t believe him. Thankfully, the police had been a little easier to fool.

“It was just a knock on the head,” Sebastian said. “They didn’t get anything. I didn’t have anything on me.”

“Seb, I don’t believe that,” Dan said. “Come on, what happened?”

Sebastian sighed and pushed himself further back into the sofa.

“You didn’t… you didn’t do something stupid, did you?” Dan asked, uncertainly.

“What? No!”

“Sorry,” Dan said as Sebastian pushed himself away from his friend. “I didn’t… I worry about you Sebastian.”

“I wouldn’t do that, Dan, not whilst I have Emily,” Sebastian said, a little disgusted to think that his friend would think he was capable of something like that.

“Alright,” Dan said. “I’m sorry.”

“It was a mugging, Dan,” Sebastian insisted. “And I am not going to talk about it anymore, so there is no point asking.”

He folded his arms like a stroppy four year old and it almost made Dan laugh.

“Alright,” he said, moving closer to his friend. “Want to explain why you’re here though. What’s happened since the crash? I’m a little out of it.”

“I’m not with Hanna anymore,” Sebastian said, quietly.

“Yes, I got that impression,” Dan said, his voice light. He tried to make Sebastian mimic his smile but it was useless. “Why aren’t you with Kimi?”

“I was,” Sebastian said. “We were going to tell people. But then… I don’t know… Kimi got scared, I think. He doesn’t want Nico to hurt me.”

Sebastian’s eyes flicked from Dan to the floor and Dan frowned.

“It wasn’t… it wasn’t Nico that did that to you, was it?”

“I’m not talking about it, Dan,” Sebastian snapped, standing.

“Well that’s not fair,” Dan said, gesturing at his useless legs. He was still grinning, trying to keep Sebastian at ease. “I’m sorry. But it wasn’t nothing, was it? Was it something to do with Nico, though? Or was it the mugging that got Kimi worried? I’m just trying to understand, Seb.”

Sebastian didn’t move from where he was stood. He didn’t want to talk about it, but he knew Dan wasn’t going to stop talking about it. He’d known the Australian long enough to know he didn’t stop until he got what he wanted. It was one of the things Sebastian hated about him.

“It got Kimi worried,” Sebastian said. “But that is the last that I am saying about it. No more.”

“Alright,” Dan said. He patted the spot beside him and Sebastian fell back into it. “I’m sorry,” he said. “For not being around these couple of days.”

“You aren’t well,” Sebastian said. “I cannot expect you to be there all the time.”

“Yes you can,” Dan said. “I’m your best friend. I’d be offended if you didn’t expect me to be there all the time.”

Sebastian could feel himself starting to smile and he looked quickly at the floor, not wanting to see Dan’s triumphant grin. He let Dan pull him into a hug, trying not to laugh when Dan did.

“How are things going to work with you and Emily, then?” Dan asked, once he’d let Sebastian go.

“I don’t know,” Sebastian admitted. “I need to talk to Hanna, but things just keep happening.”

Things just kept happening.

“I’ll help, if you need to,” Dan said. “I mean, I might need you to drive me places, but if you need help talking to Hanna, I can do that.”

Sebastian gave up trying to stop himself from smiling, grinning sheepishly at the floor. “I’ve missed you, Dan,” he said, quietly.

“I’ve missed you too,” Dan said. “Now, go and make some coffee, would you?”

“The nurse said you can come home,” Rob said once Felipinho had finished explaining to his father who was who in his latest picture.

“I know,” Felipe said. “They told me before you came in.”

Rob wasn’t entirely sure what to say now. He knew he needed to apologise but simply saying sorry again felt like an insult and he couldn’t do it again.

“I went to see Alonso yesterday,” he said, quietly. It would probably be best to skip past the awkward apology and come back to that when he’d figured out what he was going to say. “He went to see Räikkönen.”

“Did not want to bother him,” Felipe said.

“He was happy to help,” Rob insisted. “He said he tried to get you to get help before.”

Felipe shrugged. He didn’t really want to talk about it. He’d tried to put that part of his life behind him. He didn’t _want_ to get help. He just wanted to forget about it.

“Räikkönen’s on our side,” Rob said, quietly.

Felipe looked up at him, mouth open in shock. “But…”

“I don’t know what Alonso said, but it worked,” Rob said. “Räikkönen came and told me himself, he isn’t going to be helping her anymore.”

The shocked face turned into a grin. There were tears in Felipe’s eyes.

“And I’ve been looking around at lawyers and things in case she really does take this to court,” Rob said. “I can deal with all that myself, if you want me to, or we can go through it together.”

He was holding Felipe’s hand again, his other hand resting on Felipinho’s back to stop him falling backwards off the bed. Rob knew he probably shouldn’t have been as proud of himself as he was, but he was actually doing something to help someone for once, and it felt like he hadn’t done anything this meaningful in a long time.

“Thank you,” Felipe whispered, and Rob could hear the tears in his voice. “Thank you so much.”

Rob grinned back at him. He couldn’t think of anything to say for a while. There wasn’t anything more to say. Things were bad now, but they were going to get better. He was going to make them better.

“Right,” he said, eventually. “So, do you feel ready to come home?”

“Home?” Felipinho asked, sitting up suddenly. He would have fallen off the bed if Rob’s hand hadn’t been in place, and the relieved look on his face when Rob caught him made both adults laugh. “You’re coming home.”

Felipe nodded, causing a bouncing fit to erupt from the five year old.

“Like, _really_ home?” Felipinho asked, and Felipe wasn’t quite sure what that meant, but he nodded anyway, causing the bouncing fit to get even more violent. “Staying there and not in hospital, for good?”

“Yes,” Felipe said. “But if you don’t stop bouncing, I will probably have to stay here as you will have squashed me flat.”

Felipinho stopped immediately, only making Felipe and Rob laugh more.

“Now?” Felipinho asked.

“Well, I think the nurse has to come and do some things first, but after that,” Felipe said, trying to keep his laughter to a minimum so he could speak.

Felipinho came up onto his knees again, and Rob was sure he was going to start bouncing again but, instead, he wrapped one arm around his father’s neck and held out the other for Rob. Rob came into the hug, holding his family tightly.


	53. In which Toto explains, Nico panics, and Rob promises...

“Kimi?”

Kimi could not say he was expecting to find Lewis Hamilton in the small, damp little kitchen at the back of the house, making tea as if he lived there. He couldn’t say he was surprised very often either, but this definitely qualified as one of those few times.

The surprise didn’t appear on his face, though.

“Lewis,” he said. “There are a few people worried about you. You should probably let them know where you are.”

He didn’t seem to be hurt at all, like Dan and Daniil had described. Kimi made no attempt to hide the fact he was looking closely at the Brit who should have been dying.

“Toto?” Lewis called, uncertainly.

Something wasn’t right here. Lewis wasn’t as hurt as Nico had been making him out to be, and he definitely wasn’t as bad as the hospital had suggested. He was stood there with a dripping wet tea bag on the end of his spoon, not fighting for his life. Kimi had been right to not trust the hospital clearly. But who they were taking orders from, he didn’t know.

Toto appeared in the kitchen doorway, his eyes landing on Kimi immediately. There was no way he can get out of this.

“I think somebody should start explaining some things,” Kimi suggested. “Who would like to go first?”

Lewis looked between Toto and Kimi, clearly not about to offer any explanation as to why he wasn’t dying. Toto sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets.

“We are on your side.”

“What?”

Kimi could see Toto trying to figure out how to explain this, and he was beginning to wonder if there was a reasonable explanation, or if he really had just gone insane.

“I’m working for Niki,” Toto said. “On a project.”

Kimi knew that. Niki had already told him as much. He wasn’t allowed to know what the project was, and Kimi respected that. His adoptive father did his work, and Kimi did his. In their line of work, project aims weren’t causally shared.

“He wants Elevency,” Toto said. “He’s wanted it for a while.”

“And what does this have to do with him?” Kimi asked, nodding towards Lewis. “And what does this have to do with me?”

“He wants Elevency _for you_ ,” Toto said. He wasn’t sure if he should have been telling Kimi this, but he doesn’t think he really has much choice right now. “Nico is broken. He will not last much longer. It will not be long before he hands over control to you, and then you get what you deserve and Niki is happy.”

“How?” Kimi asked.

“How what?” Toto asked.

“How did you get Nico to believe he was hurt,” Kimi said, nodding towards Lewis again. “And how did you get the hospital to go along with it?”

“Niki dealt with the hospital,” Toto said. He didn’t know anything about that. “Nico can be very easy to fool in the right situation.”

“Right situation?”

“The entire day was a set up,” Toto said. “Niki did not get a tip off. He already knew about the hit and run. We knew you would suggest Alonso’s for the meeting. We gave Alonso something to give to Nico. Nothing that would hurt him. Just enough to make him believe what we wanted him to believe. No, Alonso didn’t know what it was, before you ask. He was told you wanted it in Nico’s drink.”

Toto said everything in a matter of fact tone, and Kimi took it to be the truth. It made sense too. Who really would have been able to give Niki the tip off on who was driving the car? He should have seen this sooner. Why _hadn’t_ he seen this sooner?

“Why did you not feel I should know?” Kimi asked, not letting the fact that he hadn’t figured this out bug him.

“Niki said it was better if you did not know,” Toto said with a shrug. “I do not know why. I’m just following orders.”

“And why are you doing this?” Kimi asked Lewis. It was another thing he couldn’t figure out.

Lewis was still frozen, unable to reply. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, face like a gormless fish.

“Nico… was… cheating… on… me…” Lewis managed to spit out, eventually. He still hadn’t taken his eyes off of Kimi. Kimi wasn’t even sure he’d blinked.

“Nico was cheating on you?” Kimi said. “This is your reasoning for ruining his life?”

If he were honest, that didn’t surprise Kimi in the slightest. He didn’t wait for Lewis’ brain to catch up and form an answer before turning back to Toto.

“How long have you been planning this?” he asked.

“A couple of months.”

“And the hit and run… was part of that?” Kimi asked.

“We knew we had to do something,” Toto said. “We did not know what until it happened.”

“You could have killed an innocent person,” Kimi pointed out.

“He was a tramp,” Lewis said.

“Smedley saw you, didn’t he?” Kimi said. “At the hospital. He saw Lewis wasn’t hurt.”

“He walked in whilst we were talking,” Toto confirmed. “We made him keep quiet.”

Of course.

“So, what are you going to do?” asked Lewis.

“Have said you are on my side?” Kimi said, receiving nods from both Toto and Lewis. “Then I will not do anything.”

“Toto thinks I should just give in to Kimi,” Nico said, quietly. He’d gone to find Jenson in the kitchen where he was preparing food.

Jenson looked up and gave a weak smile to Nico, not sure what else he should do. It was probably a bad idea to tell him what Kimi thought about Toto, at least until the Finn knew for certain there was something wrong with him. Otherwise, it would just cause arguments, and that was the last thing Nico needed.

“And what do you think you should do?” he asked.

Nico shrugged. “I don’t know anymore. Maybe he’s right.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Jenson said gently, giving Nico’s hand a small squeeze. “Just because you don’t do things the way Kimi does or the way your father did doesn’t mean you can’t do this.”

The argument didn’t cheer Nico up.

“Or maybe you should,” Jenson said, deciding on a new approach. “If you really don’t think you can do it, and if it’s stressing you out this much, you should go to Kimi and tell him you want out.”

“Then everything will have been for nothing,” Nico pointed out.

“It’s just been another path to get you here,” Jenson said. “It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you do what’s best for you.”

“But I don’t know what that is,” Nico mumbled.

“Of course you don’t,” Jenson said. “Nobody does. If it were me – and I know it isn’t, but if it were – I would just try to carry on until I figured out for sure. Because, now, if you carry on and you’re wrong, you can always go to Kimi. But if you go to Kimi and your wrong, you can’t really take that back.”

It made a lot of sense, Nico had to admit, which he didn’t like. He preferred things screwed up in his head, because then he could say he didn’t know rather than admitting he knew something he didn’t like. He cringed as Jenson pulled away from him to carry on preparing the meal.

“Do you need help?” he asked quietly.

Jenson shook his head, then looked up at Nico. “Yeah, just a second and I’ll tell you what needs doing next.”

 

“VALTTERI!” Felipinho called, racing through the house to try to find the Finn. “Valtteri! Daddy’s back.”

Rob was laughing as he helped Felipe into the house. Even though the smaller man was insisting that he could do things alone and he didn’t need Rob’s help, getting up the stairs into the house had been a little difficult. This was not going to be an easy time.

“How long do you think it will take for him to calm down?” Rob asked.

“We are not getting an early night tonight,” Felipe agreed, grinning.

“Valtteri!” Felipinho called in when Valtteri came in. “Valtteri, Daddy is home!”

He waved behind him to where Rob and Felipe were making their way into the living room. The five year old wouldn’t stop bouncing, not even noticing the less than happy expression on Valtteri’s face. Rob frowned.

“What’s up?”

“Got a letter whilst you were out,” Valtteri said, nodding to the pile of post on the coffee table. “Did not open it, but it came with its own special delivery boy. Her solicitor.”

The grin on Felipe’s face fell and he looked up at Rob.

“It’s ok,” Rob insisted. “We’ll find someone and get this all sorted out, I promise you. She is not having Pea.”

“What?” Felipinho asked, confused. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Rob insisted.

“Is it the lady?” Felipinho asked.

The adults exchanged nervous looks, each one of them trying to think out what the others were thinking. Felipinho frowned up at them all annoyed.

“I’m not a baby,” he said. “You can tell me what’s wrong.”

“Yes, it’s the lady,” Valtteri jumped in. “But remember what I said? Rob’s going to make it better, and you don’t have to worry about anything.”

Felipinho looked between the three adults, trying to make up his mind as to whether to believe Valtteri or not.

“Alright,” he said, slowly. “But you have to promise, Rob.”

Rob grinned. “I promise.”

Felipinho held out his hand, little finger extended towards Rob and Felipe watched as Rob curled his own finger around Felipinho’s and promised again.

“Alright,” Felipinho said, folding his arms in obvious annoyance at the grown ups. “Can I watch a film?”

“Upstairs, yeah, Valtteri will put it on for you,” Rob said, glancing up at Valtteri who nodded and, taking his hand, led the five year old upstairs.

Things have changed since Felipe went to hospital, he noticed.

“What is with the finger thing?” he asked as Rob sat down to open the letter.

“Pinkie promise,” Rob said. “My sisters used to do it all the time.”

“Yes, when did you start doing that?” Felipe asked, sitting down beside Rob. He didn’t remember that being a thing before.

Rob looked down at the floor, the solicitor’s letter in his hand. “I promised you would be ok.”


	54. In which not much actually happens...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not very good at selling this am I?  
> Anyway, here's another chapter. It's a little short. Sorry about that.

When Kimi returned home, he came back to a quiet, tidy little house that was nothing like his own. For some reason, the sense and order was more chaotic than when it had been a mess. He’d known, of course, that Nico and Sebastian had tied up before. When he left the house it had been like this. But, without Sebastian there as an explanation for it all, it seemed strange.

He needed normality to try to reorder his thoughts and figure out what he was going to do next. He needed familiarity. The idea of purposefully ruining Sebastian’s hard work didn’t seem very appealing though so, almost immediately after arriving home, he left.

Alonso’s wasn’t open when he got there, but it didn’t matter. Fernando let him in anyway and paid him no mind whilst Kimi sat in one of the booths in the strange, out of hours lighting, and planned.

He could not keep what he had found from Nico.

The German would not be happy with the discovery. It had been Toto who had stood by him through everything that had happened before, and it was Toto that he was relying on now. Nico would want evidence, which Kimi would very easily be able to provide, but he wouldn’t necessarily listen to it.

But if he didn’t tell him, things would get a lot worse.

Of course Kimi wanted Elevency to himself. Everybody knew he wanted that. But what they had now was working, and Kimi didn’t want to put that at risk. He didn’t want to put Sebastian at risk.

Maybe he would be more inclined to go along with their plan if he’d known about it before. He still had no idea why they wouldn’t tell him.

Before he was going to see Nico, though, he would speak to Niki. There had to be some logic as to why his adoptive father had decided against telling him. He was hoping the older man would be able to show him how this made sense. Maybe there would be reason to not tell Nico yet.

“Kimi?” Fernando asked, nervously, from the bar.

Kimi glared at him. Fernando shrank away from him a little, but didn’t return to the tasks he had been doing before.

“Did you… have you gone to see Felipe?” Fernando asked.

“I have done what I think is right,” Kimi said.

“You do not know what he is really like,” Fernando said. “Or her. He did not deserve what she did to him.”

“Yes, thank you,” Kimi said. “You can go now.”

“Am just saying,” Fernando said, quietly. “I should have done something before.”

He looked down at the glass he was supposed to be cleaning. He knew he should just leave Kimi to get on with things but… but he should have done something before.

“Right,” Kimi said. He stood up having made his decision. He was going to go and see Niki. He wanted to hear what he had to say for himself.

“Thank you,” Fernando said, quietly, his eyes flicking between Kimi and the glass.

“What for?” Kimi asked as he made to leave.

“For what you do,” Fernando said. “I do not think you have heard that enough.”

“It’ll be ok,” Rob said, even though they were both shaking. He put the letter onto the coffee table, having read it out to Felipe because he couldn’t stand to read it himself. He wrapped his arm around the smaller man again and kissed his temple, trying to calm them both down, but it didn’t work.

“It won’t be, though,” Felipe said. “Fernando said. He said when we came that she would try to get him back, but I didn’t listen. She’s going to get him, Rob.”

“She won’t,” Rob said. “I’ve been looking at solicitors. Hey, come on. Hundreds of families have gone through this place. I’ve seen more family lawyers than I have had hot dinners. We’ll find somebody. We’ll fight this.”

He wasn’t sure why it had come as such a shock. Rob had known this was coming, and he expected Felipe had been expecting this for much longer. But it hit them a lot harder than Rob had been expecting. He’d prepared for this, though.

“But if she has Räikkönen on her side…”

“She doesn’t,” Rob said. “He believed Alonso, remember. He’s on our side. You have nothing to worry about. I’ll do whatever you don’t want to do, alright?”

Felipe looked up at him, smiling weakly. “I do not deserve you,” he said, quietly.

Rob laughed and pushed himself up. “I don’t believe that. Do you remember what I’m like really?”

“I love you,” Felipe said.

It still made Rob grin every time he heard Felipe say that, even after all these years.

“I love you two.”

Valtteri came into the living room, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing a little.

“Pea is sorted,” he said. “Wants Felipe to come and watch it with him. I said he would come up in a minute. I’m going to go home now, unless you need me for anything else, Rob?”

“No, thanks,” Rob said, standing properly. “Thank you.”

Valtteri smiled, as awkward as ever, then nodded and went to leave. Rob went with him to see him out and, when he returned, Felipe was trying to stand.

“Nope,” Rob said, rushing over. “Not without help.”

“Am not an invalid,” Felipe complained, wobbling as he walked but doing a lot better than Rob expected him to be doing.

Rob grabbed hold of his arm, but it was Felipe guiding him in the direction he wanted to go.

“Let me help you.”

“No,”

“Felipe, you’re going to hurt yourself,” Rob said. “Do you want to go back to hospital?”

“Felipinho wants me to go and watch a film,” Felipe said, ignoring Rob and carrying on towards the stairs.

“No,” Rob said again. “You stay here. He can come and watch it downstairs. Hurting yourself isn’t going to do anybody any good.”

Felipe huffed, but let Rob take him back to the sofa.

“Don’t give me that look,” Rob said, grinning. “I’ll get him now.”

 

“Well, I’m stuffed,” Jenson said, grinning. The food was good, even if he does say so himself. He looked up to find Nico still pushing food about his plate. He’d eaten some, he was thankful for, but it wasn’t a lot. “Are you alright?”

Nico looked up at Jenson as if he’d suddenly realised there was somebody else sat there, and put on a smile that almost looked genuine. “Yeah, of course.”

Jenson took Nico’s hand, forcing him to put down the knife he was holding but not using. He didn’t know what to say, and all he could do was sigh. He wasn’t sure if it would be better to find out that Toto was against them or not, but he didn’t like not knowing. He didn’t want to tell Nico to trust him, but he didn’t want to tell him about Kimi’s suspicion as well.

“Tell me what to do and I’ll do it, Nico,” Jenson said, quietly.

“If I knew I would,” Nico said, pulling his hand away and taking his knife in hand again. He didn’t know what to do. There was a million things he needed to sort out, but he had no idea what to do. “Maybe… I need to phone Kevin.”

He still had no idea what his second in command was doing, but he needed to find out what had made Kevin think Lewis was in the Backfor area. Yesterday, he’d just gone straight to Backfor, not listening to any of the explanations Kevin had tried to give. Maybe if he had listened, he wouldn’t have been so stupid and think Toto…

“Do you want me to?” Jenson asked.

“I can do things myself,” Nico said. He didn’t mean to snap or sound angry, but he did. He put the knife and fork down again and ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm himself down. “I can do things myself,” Nico said again, calmly this time. “Thank you, though.”

Jenson smiled weakly, trying to keep the hurt from his face.

“I’ll leave you to it.”


	55. In which Kimi hears another explanation, Felipinho keeps forgetting, and Sebastian makes breakfast...

By the time Niki arrived back in Elevency, it was early in the morning, but Kimi hadn’t slept. Surprising himself a little, he hadn’t drunk that much, either. He’d spent most of the night trying to come up with his own explanations which Niki might have been able to come up with. He wanted to understand. He didn’t want Niki to be working against him.

Niki knocked on the door quickly, but Kimi took his time going to answer it. It was dark in the house – there had been no need to turn the lights on and he didn’t like the tidiness of the house now.

Niki turned the light on as he followed Kimi inside, neither of them saying anything until the door was closed.

“I am guessing this is about Toto and Lewis,” Niki said.

“They told you?” Kimi asked.

“Toto phoned to say that you had called round,” Niki said. “How did you find out?”

“Followed Toto,” Kimi said with a small shrug. It didn’t matter _how_ he had found out. “What is going on?”

“Toto said he explained to you whilst you were there,” Niki said.

“But now I am asking you,” Kimi said, bluntly.

Niki sighed, hoping his obvious annoyance would make Kimi drop it, but Kimi wouldn’t budge. He wanted an explanation and he was going to get one.

“We should make something to drink,” Niki said. “Then I will explain.”

Things had gone back to normal.

Felipinho threw himself onto the bed, and onto his father, waking both Felipe and Rob up.

“Careful,” Rob warned.

Felipinho froze, his grin falling, and looked down at Felipe, who was trying to sit up without wincing.

“Are you ok, Daddy?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” Felipe insisted.

The night before, Felipinho had fallen asleep almost as soon as he’d come down the stairs to watch the film, but they’d sat together until the end, when Rob had carried the child up the stairs then insisted on helping Felipe up too.

“What time is it?” Felipe asked, yawning.

“It’s past when I’m allowed up,” Felipinho said, wriggling to lie between Felipe and Rob. “I checked.”

“Half seven,” Rob said.

“Am I going to school today?” Felipinho asked.

Rob bit his lip and looked over to Felipe. “Maybe, Pea.”

He was going to need to phone the school and explain if he wasn’t going in. For some reason, allowing a child to go away with a complete stranger wasn’t a good enough reason for someone to not be trusted.

“I miss going to school,” Felipinho said. “I won’t go away with the lady, I promise.”

“Alright,” Rob said, pushing himself up and out of bed. “Downstairs and I’ll make breakfast. If you get ready quick enough, you can go to school.”

Felipinho sat up and, climbing back over Felipe, got out of the bed. He froze again, realising what he had done, but Felipe just laughed.

“Go down stairs, quickly,” Felipe said, grinning when his son raced out of the room.

“Do you want help?” Rob asked, getting up and holding out a hand for Felipe.

“I can do it,” Felipe said, swinging his legs out of the bed and pushing himself up. “See?”

He wobbled a little, holding onto the wall as he made his way down the stairs. Rob waited a few seconds before following him. On the stairs, Felipe stumbled a little, but Rob grabbed him before he could fall.

“I see,” he said, grinning, and followed Felipe down the stairs.

“Daddy,” Felipinho called, pulling Felipe into the kitchen. “You’ll make breakfast?”

“Hang on,” Felipe said, leaning against the wall with Felipinho still pulling on his hand. “Calm down.”

“Are you being careful, Pea?” Rob asked from behind him.

Felipinho froze and looked up at Felipe. “Sorry. I keep forgetting. I didn’t mean to.”

“It is _fine_ ,” Felipe insisted. He wasn’t going to let his son think he couldn’t do things. Maybe he _couldn’t_ do some things, but Felipinho didn’t need to know that. He looked up at Rob, taking Felipinho’s hand, and smiled weakly. “It’s fine, Rob.”

“Tell me straight you think Nico Rosberg is doing good here,” Niki said. “That he is doing his job.”

Kimi leaned against the fridge in the kitchen whilst the older man made them coffee. “He does.”

“He is not,” Niki said “Elevency is not the simplest place in the world, and it is too complex for Nico. Keke knew that. Toto knows that. You are able to keep this city. Nico is not. It is as simple as that.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kimi asked.

“You would have gone along with it if I had told you?” Niki asked.

“Maybe I would if I thought it was a good idea,” Kimi said.

“And do you?”

Kimi considered it. Controlling Elevency made sense to him. It was what he was fighting for before and he’d only stopped fighting because he knew it would hurt Sebastian. He still thought it was the case.

“This is the wrong way to do it,” Kimi said. “Keke has already attacked Sebastian.”

“It is the only way Nico will give up though,” Niki said. “He may not be good, but he is a fighter. You must admire him for this.”

“And you still thought it would be better to not tell me,” Kimi said, accepting the mug of coffee from Niki. “Even though there was the possibility I would say no, surely it would be better if I knew what was going on?”

Niki shrugged. “There is nothing I can do about that now.”

Kimi looked between Niki and his mug of coffee.

He needed to tell Nico, he reminded himself. He needed to tell Nico because the German could not blame him for what he thought had happened to Lewis.

“If there is a problem in this city, who do they go to?” Niki asked. “Even if it is Nico they pay, they come to you. Why is he given the same royalties as you?”

“He does his job,” Kimi said. “He does what we agreed he would do. There is nothing else to worry about.”

“So you would rather things stay as they are?” Niki asked. “You do all the work and the Rosberg kid takes all the glory.”

“Does not take _all_ the glory,” Kimi said. “And I do not do all the work.”

“What are you going to do, Kimi?” Niki asked. “We can go back and forth arguing about this but it will not change things. Are you going to tell him or not?”

“Of course not,” Kimi lied. “Like Toto said, this is for me, yes?”

 

“Breakfast in bed, no wonder Kimi loves you,” Dan laughed when Sebastian flopped onto the bed beside him and put a bowl of cereal on his lap.

Sebastian sighed, taking a spoonful of cereal from Dan’s bowl.

“What’s up?” Dan asked.

“Nothing,” Sebastian said. “I’ve been trying to phone Hanna but she isn’t answering.”

“Really?”

“We need to sort things out,” Sebastian said. “Be adults. I’m still Emily’s dad. I don’t want her to forget me.”

“It’s only been a few days,” Dan said.

“It’s the beginning,” Sebastian said. “And now she isn’t answering the phone.”

“So you’re not making me breakfast in bed,” Dan laughed. “You’ve come to have a moan.”

“Sorry.”

“Moan away,” Dan said. “I like your moaning.”

“Maybe I should go round,” Sebastian said. “I don’t want to annoy her though.”

“Give her another couple of calls first,” Dan said. “Then I’ll come with you if you want me to.”

“You can’t walk,” Sebastian reminded him.

“Can to,” Dan said. “Just… not very well. And it doesn’t matter. I’m there for you, alright.”

“Kimi won’t pay you otherwise.”

“Sebastian…”

“Joke,” Sebastian said, smiling. “Sorry, I am not very good at them.”

Dan grinned. “Go and get my phone and I’ll call Hanna for you, see if I can work my magic on her as well.”

“You are demanding, aren’t you,” Sebastian said, standing. “Thank you, though.”

“It’s nothing.”


	56. In which Hanna doesn't answer the phone and Felipe does the school run...

Kevin was one of the few people Nico felt he could trust. The list was becoming shorter and shorter, and sometimes, through no fault of his own, the Dane fell off of it, but he always proved himself.

They met in the coffee shop, where Jenson was keeping an eye on Nico and pretending not to be. He brought the drinks over before retreating to a safe distance behind the counter.

“Thank you for coming,” Nico said. He was shaking a little. He didn’t know why he was shaking. He trusted Kevin, after all.

“There is not really much to report,” Kevin said, a little ashamed. “You went to investigate Backfor.”

Nico closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the aroma of his coffee fill his mind.

“It did not go so well,” Nico said. He didn’t really understand what had happened whilst he was in Backfor. He was refusing to believe he’d gone mad, but that was exactly what it looked like had happened.

“Take it you did not find Lewis,” Kevin asked.

Jenson was watching from the counter. The shop was quiet again, something he would have been concerned about if he had any mind space left to care about his business.

Nico shook his head. “What exactly did you see?”

“A few people reported to having seen Lewis about on a couple of nights,” Kevin said. “They all said the same kind of area. I checked the CCTV outside some of the shops in that area and it was awful quality but it looked like someone that could have been Lewis. Besides the fact that, of course, Lewis would not be able to walk.”

“He was well?” Nico asked.

“The person in the CCTV was well,” Kevin corrected him. “And the person some people have seen. I don’t know if it’s Lewis. I can’t see _how_ it could be Lewis but…”

“It looked like him?”

“In the grainy pictures and the person that other people have seen, yes, it looks like him,” Kevin said. “Maybe it wasn’t enough to go on and I should have waited until I could give you more,”

“No, it was the right thing to do,” Nico said quietly, trying not to get too lost in his own thought.

“But it wasn’t him?” Kevin asked.

“It doesn’t look like it, no,” Nico said.

“Sorry for the false alarm,” Kevin said. “If anything else comes up from Backfor, do you want me to ignore it or…”

“No,” Nico said. “Don’t ignore it, but… but keep in mind this.”

“Will do,” Kevin said. “There’s nothing else really to report, I’m afraid.”

“Don’t worry,” Nico said. It wasn’t as if he could claim he’d done something productive either. “Thank you for coming.”

 

“I do not think I have ever seen anybody so excited to be going to school,” Felipe laughed, watching Felipinho race down the playground to find his friends. He walked, leaning on Rob, through the school gates. Rob didn’t want him to come. He’d tried to insist that Felipe stay at home whilst he did the inconvenient school run, but Felipe wasn’t having any of it.

The mothers that had been whispering behind Rob’s back about how badly he was coping rushed over to greet them, making empty comments about how glad they all were and how strong he must be to be coming there today. Felipe smiled politely, not put off by them in the slightest. Rob could see he was struggling though. He _could_ stand on his own and he _could_ walk on his own, but trying to do so as if nothing was wrong was not so easy.

“Alright,” Rob said, trying to get between the mothers and Felipe. “He has just come out of hospital.”

“Rob,” Felipe hissed. “I am fine.”

“Yes but you’re not,” Rob said, quietly, taking Felipe’s hand again and squeezing it gently.

The mothers frowned at the touch, but said nothing. Rob let go of his hand as soon as he realised he was holding it and continued to walk with Felipe to the classroom. Felipinho was waiting outside.

“Does he have a note to say why he has not been in?” the class teacher asked.

“I phoned to say why he wouldn’t be in,” Rob said.

“Ah, yes,” the teacher said. “The receptionist did say. Erm…”

“You let him go off with a stranger,” Rob said. “Even after I warned you specifically and he’d already been taken by a stranger before.”

“Mr Smedley, I can assure you…”

 **“** What?” Rob asked. “Are you going to tell me it won’t happen again? Because you told me it wouldn’t happen in the first place and it did.”

“Rob,” Felipe hissed. “Do not start an argument about this.”

“He’s only coming in today because he wanted to,” Rob said. “And if anything like that happens again, we’re finding him a new school.”

“We?” the teacher asked, her eyes flicking between Rob and Felipe.

Rob bit his lip. He’d put his foot in it, again. “Felipe will find him a new school,” he corrected himself, eventually.

Felipe rolled his eyes and folded his arms, leaning against the wall of the school.

“Right,” the teacher said slowly. “Then I will make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

Once Felipinho had given them both hugs and disappeared inside with the rest of the herd of five year olds, Rob began to lead Felipe back to the car.

“It is you who wants to keep this a secret,” Felipe reminded him. “But it is you who always lets things slip.”

“I don’t want to keep it a secret,” Rob said. “But…”

“Yes, the Halfway Houses,” Felipe said. “I remember.”

Rob sighed and let Felipe go on for a couple of seconds by himself, glaring at the women who were beginning to make their way over. If he didn’t want help from Rob, he definitely wasn’t going to want help from the mothers. Rob glanced around, suddenly realising the absence of one mother in particular.

“Can you wait in the car a minute,” Rob said, catching up with Felipe at the gates. “I just want to speak to Hanna.”

“Why?” Felipe asked. If Rob was going to try to convince her about Felipinho’s mother, Felipe would rather he leave it. It would only make things worse.

“She’s a friend,” Rob said. “Away from Räikkönen, she’d probably believe you. And I want to make sure she’s alright.”

“Please just leave it Rob,” Felipe said. “I know you’re trying to help but it won’t.”

“Then I won’t mention you,” Rob said. “I’ll go and make sure she’s alright, with everything going on with Sebastian.”

Felipe sighed. “Fine,” he said. “But please don’t mention… before.”

“I promise,” Rob said, glancing around to see if anyone was watching. This was a public place though, and Rob couldn’t risk being caught, so he just smiled. “I won’t be long, alright?”

Felipe sighed and returned Rob’s smile, hobbling slowly back to the car whilst Rob went off to find his so called friend.

 

“She didn’t answer, did she?” Sebastian said, quietly.

“It’s probably just an awkward time,” Dan said. “School run and everything.”

He smiled and tried to get Sebastian to do the same, but it wasn’t working. Hanna hadn’t answered the phone and Dan had no idea what that translated to in Sebastian’s mind, but it couldn’t be any good.

“Tell you what,” Dan said. “Give it half an hour and I’ll phone again. _Then_ if she doesn’t answer, we’ll go round and see if anything is wrong.”

“Thank you,” Sebastian said, but he wasn’t really listening to Dan’s suggestions. He just knew Dan would help him see Emily again, and he probably had a much better idea of how to do that than Sebastian did.

“So, you and Kimi are going to be together now, then?” Dan asked. “I can’t imagine Hanna will be very impressed about that.”

“She… I thought she was ok with it,” Sebastian said. “But then, when we were at the park… and afterwards… I don’t know. Why should she be ok with it? I was cheating on her,”

“You couldn’t help falling in love, Seb,” Dan said, putting his arm around his friend. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“Try telling Hanna that,” Sebastian muttered.

“I will, as soon as I can,” Dan said, holding his phone up and grinning.

“I accused her of going out with Rob Smedley the other day,” Sebastian mumbled. There was no wonder why she wasn’t speaking to him. It had been different straight after he’d woken up, when she’d been worried about him, but now she knew he was ok, Sebastian didn’t blame her for being annoyed at him.

“Smedley?” Dan laughed.

“I’m such an idiot,” Sebastian muttered. “Rob’s gay. He’s going out with Felipe.”

“What?” Dan asked. “Surely he’s not allowed to do that.”

“Do what?” Sebastian said, confused.

“Felipe’s still under his care, isn’t he?” Dan said. “I would’ve thought that wasn’t allowed.” He shrugged.  “Never mind.”

 

Rob returned to the car not long after Felipe had managed to get in, a frown set in his face.

“What is wrong?” Felipe asked.

“I couldn’t find Hanna,” Rob asked. He’d asked at the nursery, but Emily wasn’t in. She hadn’t been in the day before, either.

It was clear as Rob drove them home that something was wrong. Felipe knew Rob cared about Hanna. He seemed unable to not make bonds with the people who went through the Halfway Houses. But he didn’t see why Rob would care _this_ much.

“What is wrong?” he asked again.

“Just weird that she’s not there,” Rob said. “Emily’s always at school. Hanna hates to take her out.”

“Do you want to go and check if she is ok?” Felipe asked.

“No,” Rob said, quickly.

“It is ok,” Felipe said. “You areworried about her.”

“It’s fine,” Rob said. “Emily’s probably got a bug or something.”

“Alight,” Felipe said. “But you do not have to stop speaking to her, just because she… just because of what happened.”

Rob sighed and stopped the car at a red light. “You really wouldn’t mind?”

“As long as you did not try to start a fight,” Felipe said.

“I’ll be five minutes,” Rob said.

Felipe grinned. “Yes, I have seen your five minutes. Really Rob, it is fine.”

When the light turned green again, Rob turned to car away from the Houses and towards the home Hanna had made.


	57. In which Nico and Kimi talk again and Hanna is found

“She’s still not answering, is she?” Sebastian asked, watching Dan.

“No,” Dan said, looking down at the phone. He couldn’t come up with any reason why Hanna wouldn’t speak to him, either. Even if she didn’t want to speak to Sebastian, she wasn’t to know that he was there. She wasn’t even answering. “Do you want to go round?”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Sebastian said.

“No, you’re worried,” Dan said. “And if you’re worried, I’m worried. Help me to the car and you can drive us there.”

 

“That looked like it could have gone better,” Jenson said, sliding Nico another coffee when the meeting finished.

“Backfor is the only thing Kevin’s been able to come up with and it is a load of rubbish,” Nico mumbled, lifting himself onto one of the seats at the bar. “It is not Kevin’s fault of course.”

“But it’s still not great,” Jenson said, squeezing Nico’s hand. “What’s Kevin going to do now?”

Nico shrugged. “Keep looking for Lewis, I suppose. Keep asking the right questions. There is not really anything else he can do.”

“You’ll find him,” Jenson said. “I know you will.”

“I wish everyone was as optimistic as you,” Nico said, smiling down at his coffee.

The door to the coffee shop swung open, the jingle of the bell above the door loud over the quiet murmur of the few customers that sat in the shop, and Jenson left Nico to go to the till.

“Kimi?”

Nico looked up from his drink and found the Finn sliding onto one of the stools beside him, having already ordered from Jenson.

“We need to talk,” Kimi said.

“What now?”

“You asked me what I would do if I found Lewis,” Kimi said. “Why?”

“I told you,” Nico said. “I just wanted to know what you would do.”

“Why?” Kimi asked again.

“Because I could not see what you would do to help,” Nico said. “It is all very well _finding_ Lewis, but then what? How would you get him out without being hurt? I did not think you had thought any further than step one.”

“You think I had something to do with it.”

“What? No.”

“You did,” Kimi said. “You still do.”

“No,” Nico said again, but it was clear Kimi didn’t believe him.

“What if I said I did have something to do with it?”

 

By the time Sebastian and Dan got to Hanna’s house, Rob was already knocking on the door.

“What’s wrong?” Sebastian asked, leaving Dan at the house to rush up the front garden.

“Emily wasn’t at school, I just came to see if Hanna was ok,” Rob said. “Don’t worry Sebastian. I’ve not come for some secret lovers meeting.”

Rob smiled as he said it, trying to show Sebastian he was joking, but Sebastian didn’t seem to be paying him any attention.

“How long have you been knocking?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Five minutes?”

“Hanna!” Sebastian called, hammering on the door. “Hanna, let us in.”

“Sebastian!” Rob cried. “She’s not going to answer like that.”

Sebastian still had the keys to his house on his key ring, and took them out to open the door. As soon as the door opened, the sound of a baby crying rang out.

Sebastian was through the door before Rob could tell him not to, running to the source of the crying. Rob followed him, leaving Felipe and Dan waiting outside.

Sebastian stumbled into Emily’s room, finding his daughter stood up in her cot, wailing. He picked her up quickly, holding the shaking child to his chest and bouncing with her to try to get her to stop crying. The nappy she was wearing was heavy and filled, unchanged for a while. Emily didn’t stop crying.

“Hanna?” Sebastian called.

“Sebastian, phone an ambulance,” Rob called from another room.

“What’s wrong?” Sebastian asked, following Rob’s voice through to the bedroom he had once shared with Hanna.The stench of sick hit him immediately and he wondered how he hadn’t smelt it before. It was immediately clear what was wrong.

Rob didn’t know how long Hanna had been like this, but he guessed it was why Emily hadn’t been at school for the two days. She’d had passed out, and no shaking or calling could wake her. Her breathing was shallow, but there, and Rob put the little first aid training he had to use.

“Sebastian, phone an ambulance,” he repeated, looking up to see Sebastian stood staring.

Sebastian’s eyes went from Hanna to the empty bottles of alcohol sat on the floor beside the bed. This was not good. Not good in the slightest.

“ _Sebastian_.”

“Ok,” Sebastian said, quickly, pulling his phone from his pocket. “I’m phoning now. I’m- hello?”

 

“What do you mean?” Nico asked. “What have you done?”

“Nothing,” Kimi said, which was true enough. “I am just curious. You clearly think it was me. What would you do if you found out you were right?”

“I don’t think…”

“Rosberg.”

“Do you blame me?” Nico asked. “You have every reason to do it. You call me to some stupid meeting then, whilst I’m out, Lewis gets attacked? Why wouldn’t I think it was you? I don’t _want_ to think you did this, but I do not see who else it could be and, until we find him to prove that it is not true, it is always going to be a possibility.”

“You still have not answered my questions,” Kimi pointed out. “What would you do?”

Nico looked down at his half full cup of coffee, trying to come up with an answer that didn’t make him look pathetic. The silence was answer enough for Kimi. There was no way Nico was going to plunge them back into the war. He wasn’t going to do anything.

“I think you need to come with me.”

 

Hanna wasn’t awake by the time the ambulance arrived. Not knowing what else to do, Sebastian had changed Emily and the child was now munching happily on a banana, still whimpering a little.

“You can go with her, if you like,” Rob said. “I can bring Emily with me.”

Sebastian looked between Emily and Hanna, then nodded. “Her car seat…”

“I know where everything is,” Rob said, picking Emily up. “Don’t worry. Just go.”

Emily gurgled as Rob strapped her into the car, watched closely by Felipe. He hadn’t asked what was going on yet, having watched the paramedics go into the house. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what was wrong.

Dan stumbled out of the car when Sebastian came out of the house, followed closely by the paramedics bringing Hanna out.

“Sebastian? Are you ok?”

“I… Hanna…” He fell into Dan, then proceeded to push them both over, back into the car. “I’m going with Hanna. I think… I think Rob will take you…”

“What happened?”

“She was… drinking, I think. I don’t know.”

“Alright,” Dan said. “It’s going to be ok. Could you help me over to Rob? Seb? Seb, listen to me. She’s going to be ok. This isn’t your fault.”

“We couldn’t wake her,” Sebastian mumbled. “We couldn’t wake her up. And Emily was crying and…”

“Seb, calm down,” Dan said, falling into Rob’s car. “This isn’t your fault.”

 

“You know where he is?” Nico said as soon as they were outside.

Kimi looked through the coffee shop window. He could see Jenson watching them and turned his back to the Brit so he couldn’t see what Kimi was saying. Not that there was much point, as he was certain Nico would go in and tell his new boyfriend everything as soon as Kimi let him go. He made sure Jenson could still see Nico, though. It gave Jenson no reason to come out and see what was going on.

“Yes.”

“How long?” Nico asked. He knew he wasn’t going to get a proper answer from the Finn.

“Yesterday,” Kimi said.

“And it has taken you this long to tell me?” Nico asked.

“I wanted to know why,” Kimi said.

“And their reason did not meet your high requirements?” Nico scoffed.

“No.”

“So, now what?” Nico asked.

“Well that is up to you.”


	58. In which Jenson tries to help, Hanna has a surprise, and there's a dragon analogy...

“What did he want?” Jenson asked. “Or can I not know?”

Nico watched Kimi’s car pass the front of the coffee shop, then turned back to find Jenson pushing another mug under his nose. He smiled his thanks and held the mug to warm up his hands again.

“He knows where Lewis is,” Nico said quietly.

“He _what_?” Nico closed his eyes, focusing on the warmth of the mug and not on the panicked expression Jenson was watching him with. He just needed to stay calm.

“He knows where Lewis is,” Nico said again.

“So… what…”

“There’s a plan,” Nico said. “But what can’t talk about it here.”

“Why?”

“We just can’t, Jenson,” Nico snapped, his eyes flicking open. “Sorry, I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s ok,” Jenson said, taking the mug out of Nico’s hands and holding them gently. “Do you want to talk about it later? After I close up?”

Nico shook his head. “He wants to meet in that bar we met in before,” he said. “About an hour’s time.”

“I’ll come with you.”

“You’re working.”

“I can get in one of the boys to cover,” Jenson said. “I’ll come with you.”

Nico smiled gently down at his mug. “Thank you.”

 

“Da da da da da da da.”

“Shush, Emily, it’s ok.” Sebastian bounced his daughter on his knee, trying to get her to be quiet. She was contently munching on the chocolate buttons Dan had brought her, brown drool dripping onto the clothes that still stank of the dirty nappy she’d been left in.

“I don’t understand,” Dan said. “Why would she do something like this? With Emily?”

“I shouldn’t have left her on her own,” Sebastian muttered.

“She wasn’t on her own,” Dan said. “She has friends. Family. There are people around her. I don’t understand…”

“This is all my fault,” Sebastian said. “I should have seen this. I should have known what she would be like.”

“Look, we don’t even know what happened,” Rob cut in. “When she comes around, we’ll ask. There’s no point getting worked up until we know.”

He knew he had no real business being here, but Sebastian was right. He was supposed to be her friend and he’d known she was going through a difficult time. He’d left her on her own as much as Sebastian had.

Dan looked between Felipe and Rob, who were leaving a gap between them that was big enough to have to be consciously made.

“I thought you wouldn’t be allowed to date service users,” Dan said.

“What?” Rob asked, looking up.

“You two,” Dan said, his eyes flicking between them. “Don’t tell me you’re not going out, because Sebastian told me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rob tried.

“Kimi told me,” Sebastian said.

Rob rolled his eyes. Of course. Nobody actually understood the concept of “this needs to be kept a secret or I can’t continue to help people”.

“Alright, it’s true,” he muttered. “And it _isn’t_ allowed, which is why I would rather people didn’t know about it, thank you, Dan.”

He looked between Dan and the floor. He knew the Australian pretty well, Dan volunteering at the Halfway Houses sometimes, but he had no idea whether he’d keep this secret. Dan just shrugged.

“There’s a reason it’s not allowed, mate,” he pointed out.

“Yes, and it’s a good reason,” Rob said. “But what it’s protecting isn’t the case here.”

“Can we have this discussion another time, maybe?” Sebastian asked, standing when Emily’s squirming became too much to stay seated through. “Yes, it’s ok, Emily. Mummy’s ok.”

 

Nico didn’t even bother knocking on the door to the bar this time, going inside and bringing Jenson with him. Fernando appeared from the backroom looking considerably more tired than he had done when Nico had first met him. He offered them both a weak smile.

“Coffee?”

“No thank you,” Nico said. He felt like he’d drunk enough coffee that day to last him a life time. “Is Kimi here yet?”

“Running late,” Fernando said.

“He’s always running late,” Nico muttered.

“He has a lot to do, he says,” Fernando said. He turned to Jenson. “Drink whilst you wait?”

“No thanks,” Jenson said.

Fernando sighed and ran his hand through his hair. “I will be in the other room if you need me,” he said. “Have work to do.”

They watched Fernando disappear into the other room again before settling into one of the booths. Jenson looked around the bar. He’d come here a few times before things had become serious with Nico, but never outside of opening hours. It looked strange.

“What else did he say?” Jenson asked, turning back to Nico. “When you were outside.”

Nico took a deep breath, not looking at Jenson whilst he answered. “He knows where Lewis is. He went to go and see who has him and spoke to them. Decided he didn’t like what they were doing and came to tell me. He did not say much. It wasn’t safe, apparently. And don’t… don’t say _what_ at me again because you just heard.”

“That predictable?” Jenson asked, smiling. Nico didn’t share his grin.

“Yes.”

“So this is all over now, then,” Nico said, taking hold of Nico’s hand and rubbing the back of it gently with his thumb. “That’s got to be a good thing.”

“Depends who has him,” Nico said, his eyes on the door, waiting for Kimi. “It could just get even worse.”

“It’s a step in the right direction, Nico,” Jenson said. “Whoever’s had him has always had him. It’s not going to _be_ any worse. You’re just going to know how bad it is.”

“Thanks for clearing that up,” Nico muttered sarcastically.

“You’re welcome,” Jenson said. “No, look at it this way. You’re about to go into a cave to rescue your friend, yeah. And you didn’t know if there was a bear in that cave, or a mouse, or a dragon. Well, now you’ll know. And you’ll know how prepared you need to be. It might be a dragon. But better you know it’s a dragon than not know and be unprepared?”

Nico smiled weakly and turned to Jenson. “Was that supposed to make me feel better?”

“Yes,” Jenson said, proudly. “Did it?”

“A little,” Nico admitted.

“I bet you’re glad you didn’t give in to Räikkönen now,” Jenson said.

“I don’t know,” Nico said. “If it is a dragon, then I don’t think I’m going to be prepared at all.”

 

“Mr Vettel?”

“Here!” Sebastian jumped over, still carrying Emily. The toddler had finally managed to settle and go to sleep, but yawned and blinked at her father’s excitement.

“We’ve had to pump Miss Prater’s stomach,” the doctor said. “She’s in recovery at the moment. We’re going to need to ask some questions to help us understand the Miss Prater’s case, though. When was the last time you saw her?”

“Um, a few days ago. When I was in hospital.”

“And do you know who was the last person to see Miss Prater well?” the doctor asked.

“I don’t know,” Sebastian said. “Kimi went to see her whilst I was in hospital. My… um… friend went to see her. Did you,” He turned to Rob. “Did you see her?”

Rob shook his head. “I haven’t spoken to her since Sunday.”

“Sunday then,” Sebastian said.

“Alright,” the doctor said, making a note on the clip board. “Right. I’m glad to report that, thankfully, both mum and baby should be alright, though we’ll have to monitor baby more closely throughout the pregnancy and we won’t be able to say for certain until it’s born.”

“Baby?”

Sebastian turned quickly to Rob, but he just stared back with the same confused and surprised expression.

“No,” Sebastian said. “No, there’s no baby. You’ve made a mistake.”

The doctor smile weakly. “I am pretty sure I haven’t made a mistake. About six weeks. I take it you didn’t know.”

“No,” Sebastian said. The look on his face had changed from one of confusion to one of horror. She couldn’t be pregnant. Well, she _could_. Sebastian knew very well she could be. But this… this wasn’t happening.

“I can get an ultrasound picture if you’d like to see,” the doctor said.

“Can I see Hanna?” Sebastian asked, nervously.

“She isn’t awake at the moment,” the doctor said. “But I can come and collect you when she is. I’ll go and get the photo now.”

“Thank you.”

Sebastian fell into the seat beside Dan again, the three other men all staring at him. Emily looked up at her father curiously.

“I’m going to be a dad again,” Sebastian whispered, not sure if he really believed it. “Fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are some not so nice chapters coming up with the next week or so.


	59. In which Hanna's awake and Sebastian wants answers, and Lewis' awake and Nico wants answers...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so short again. Sorry in general, but sorry it's so short.

“Hanna, there’s someone here to see you.”

“You’re pregnant?” Sebastian said as soon as he came to the bed.

Hanna stared at him staring at her. She’d gone an awful shade of yellow which made Sebastian feel a little sick and her eyes seemed wider than usual. She held out her hands for Emily but Sebastian held their child closer to him.

“You’re pregnant?” he said again.

Hanna nodded, trembling. “The baby’s ok, though.”

“As far as they can tell,” Sebastian snapped. “You might still have given it brain damage or something. Why would you do that, Hanna? Why would you do that to yourself?”

“I don’t… I don’t know.”

“Did you know you are pregnant?” Sebastian asked, shaking himself. “When you tried to…”

“I didn’t _try to_ do anything,” Hanna said. “I’m not you. I didn’t try to drink myself to death, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“You would have,” Sebastian said. “If Rob and I hadn’t shown up, you would have been dead by now.”

“See what it is like?” Hanna said. “Every day living with you, I did not know if I was going to come home and find you like that. Now do you see how hard it was?”

“So that is why you did it? To teach me a lesson?”

“No!” Hanna cried. “No. I don’t… I don’t know why.”

Emily was holding out her hands for her mother and, reluctantly, Sebastian passed the child to her. Hanna sat Emily on her lap, brushing her thin, knotted hair out of her face.

“I’m sorry.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?” Sebastian asked, gentler now.

“I didn’t know,” Hanna said. “I didn’t find out until a couple of days ago. I didn’t want you to think that I’d gotten pregnant just to get you back. I didn’t.”

“Is that why you…”

“I don’t _know_ why I did what I did,” Hanna cried. “Stop asking because I do not know.”

Emily whimpered and Sebastian made to take her away but Hanna wouldn’t let him.

“I’m sorry, Emily, please don’t cry,” Hanna whispered, her own eyes closed to keep her tears at bay.

“How long were you like that?” Sebastian asked.

Hanna opened her eyes to glare at Sebastian, pulling Emily into her arms as she sat back.

“Your _boyfriend_ came round to collect your things,” she said. “He was very nice about it. Always is though, isn’t he? I don’t know. The house just seemed empty without you and all your things. Emily was sleeping. So I…”

“Since Kimi came?” Sebastian said. “You left Emily on her own since Sunday?”

“Yes, ok,” Hanna said. “I am a terrible person who doesn’t deserve to be a mother. I left one child on her own to try to kill another.”

She sighed and looked down at Emily again. The child was settling into another sleep, trying to stay awake but doing a bad job at it.

“I’m so, so sorry.”

 

“How late is running late?” Nico snapped when Fernando reappeared. They’d been sat there for at least an hour now.

Fernando shrugged. “I do not know.”

“What’s he doing?” Nico asked.

“I do not know,” Fernando said again. The look on his face said he didn’t care much either.

“Do you know anything?” Nico said.

“Hey, calm down,” Jenson said, gently. “He’ll get here soon. It’s not his fault.”

“Am sick of waiting,” Nico muttered.

“Let me get us something to drink whilst we wait and-.”

“I don’t _want_ anything to drink,” Nico snapped, pulling away from Jenson again. “I just want to get this all sorted out. And I want people to do what they say they’re going to do. Is that really too much to ask for?”

Someone on the other side of the room coughed and Nico looked up.

“Lewis?”

Kimi held Lewis’ shoulder, until Nico looked up. Then he pushed the Brit forward so he stumbled a little towards Nico. It was clear he was fine, physically. There were no injuries from the past few weeks on him. He was perfectly ok. No signs of what happened in the hospital, or when Nico had been at the meeting.

“You’re still in mourning, I see,” Lewis said, straightening himself up and glaring at Jenson.

Jenson and Nico were both too stunned to say anything, staring at Lewis. He smirked, glad of the attention, then turned to Fernando.

“Can I get something to drink?”

“No,” Fernando said, glaring at Lewis.

“This one’s a good businessman,” Lewis smirked. He fell into the seat beside Nico, making Nico shuffle a little closer to Jenson.

“You’re ok?” he asked.

“No thanks to you,” Lewis said.

“Tell them what happened,” Kimi ordered, taking his own drink from Fernando without having to ask for one.

“What happened?” Lewis asked. “Oh, you mean Toto’s plan?”

“Toto?” Nico asked.

“Yes, your precious Toto,” Lewis said. “This was all his idea. Well, his and Niki’s. To bring you down.”

Nico looked up at Kimi, who had seated himself at the bar, Fernando having disappeared into the backroom again.

“Is this true?” he asked.

“Of course it’s true,” Lewis said.

“I am sorry, but it is true,” Kimi said. “They’ve had this planned for months.”

Nico turned back to Lewis, the confusion and shock gone now. He had a job to do and he was going to do it.

“Explain. Now.”

 

“I still don’t think it’s right,” Dan muttered as he waited with Rob and Felipe for Sebastian.

“What?” Rob asked, not really paying attention. He was playing with his phone, half expecting the school to phone to tell him the woman was back and trying to take Felipinho. Not that they had phoned before, of course.

“You two,” Dan said. “There’s a reason why the rule’s in place.”

Rob groaned silently and put the phone away. He looked down to find Felipe sleeping and wasn’t really surprised.

Nobody else had really cared that they were together. Not that they had told many people, but the nurse, Kimi, and Hanna all knew and it was just another relationship. That’s all it was. But Dan had volunteered at the Halfway Houses, and was a stickler for the rules.

“They’re there to protect people,” Rob explained. “To stop me taking advantage of someone. But I’m not, am I? I care about him. I love him.”

“I’m sure the authorities will see it like that,” Dan said sarcastically.

“No, they won’t,” Rob agreed. “That’s why we have to be like this. No, it isn’t right and it isn’t fair, but that’s just the way things are.”

He promised himself he wouldn’t get into this argument, but it wasn’t working. They’d lasted a lot longer than Rob had expected them to last and, if this ever did come out, that would work for them. But Dan was right. There was a rule, and it was there to protect people. That would not work for them.

“What are you going to do?” Rob asked.

Dan shrugged. “It’s none of my business really,” he said. “I’ve got other things to deal with.”

Other things to deal with included Sebastian, who came down from the wards holding a sleeping Emily in his arms.

Rob jumped up to greet him, waking Felipe in the process, and Dan tried to too, but fell back into his chair almost instantly.

“Are you ok?” Dan asked, moving over to let Sebastian sit in a nearer chair. He was shaking, his face grey when he shook his head.

“Can we go in to see her?” Rob asked.

“She doesn’t know why she did it,” Sebastian said. “But she’d left Emily on her own since Sunday. What am I supposed to do? I can’t leave her alone with Emily again, can I?”

“Calm down,” Dan said. “We’ll work something out, alright? Sebastian, are you listening?”

For the first time in his life, he was going to have to be the responsible one. Sebastian looked down at Emily, sleeping again. One child was too much responsibility for him. But a second?


	60. Rob apologises and Lewis gets his punishment...

Rob’s heart was thumping in his throat as he followed the nurse into the recovery ward Hanna was waiting in. He had no idea why he should be so nervous, but he was. It was probably something to do with blaming himself, he thought. After all, he’d told her he would be there for her. This whole thing with the woman had distracted him from his responsibilities, and the people he was supposed to be looking after were too fragile for him to let that happen.

Painting on a smile, Rob followed the nurse through the double doors

“Hello,” he said once he was close enough to Hanna’s bed for her to notice him. Hanna was in a bed close to the door and she smiled back when she saw him. She looked a lot better than when Rob had collected her from the house, but that was probably due to the lack of sick and her wakefulness. She looked scared, more than anything. Rob didn’t blame her.

“Hello.”

“Look at you,” Rob said, sitting down. “It’s like you all can’t get enough of hospital beds. Is it the food?”

Hanna forced a laugh, but her eyes were dull.

“I’m sorry,” Rob said. “For leaving you alone.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Hanna said. “I know you have… other things.”

“I told you I would be there for you and I wasn’t,” Rob said. “This is as much my fault as it is anybody else’s. Why didn’t you… You could have told me you were pregnant, Hanna. I could have helped.”

“I don’t want your help, Rob,” Hanna said. “No, I mean, I don’t want to have to rely on you all the time. I want to be able to stand by myself and do things but I can’t. I… can’t. I can’t do this, Rob.”

“It’s ok,” Rob said, moving to sit on the edge of Hanna’s bed and holding her as she let go and the tears came flooding out. The landed silently on the bed sheets, her shaky breaths the only sound she made. “It’s ok. Everybody needs a little help, alright, and that doesn’t make you a bad person or a failure.”

Hanna didn’t say anything, curling herself into Rob’s embrace. Rob bit his lip, looking around the room for inspiration, but there was nothing. Tired lookingpatients and their families were minding their own business up and down the ward, all with their own lives and their own problems to deal with.

“Everybody needs help,” he said, softly.

“I’m such an idiot,” Hanna muttered, speaking to herself more than Rob because she knew he would try to tell her otherwise. “I should have gotten rid of this… _thing_ when I found out about it.” She prodded her stomach and stared at it, but she received no reaction from baby. “Sebastian doesn’t want it, does he? And look at me. I can’t cope with it. No, it’s probably better off not being born.”

“Do you really think that?” Rob asked. “Really? Look at me, Hanna. You are an amazing mother and, even though you’re not going through the best time at the moment, that is still the case and I will challenge anyone who tries to tell me otherwise.”

Hanna laughed again, sitting back in the bed, but it was clear she didn’t believe that. One day, people would start believing what Rob said, he was sure, and that would be the day he had a heart attack and died. You could tell someone a million nice things about themselves and they wouldn’t believe any of them. You tell them one bad thing…

“You’re not having the best of times right now,” Rob said again. “I don’t think anybody can blame you for that. But it will get better. We can help you.”

“We?” Hanna asked, suspiciously.

“We,” Rob said again. “Me, Felipe, the mums from the school. And Sebastian. This is his responsibility too.”

Hanna didn’t reply. She trailed her fingers across her stomach, watching them brush the rough hospital gown.

“We should have been careful,” she said, quietly.

“Yeah, but you weren’t,” Rob said, smiling. “And you can’t change that now. You’ve got a choice now. Keep it or get rid of it. Whatever you do, I’ll be there for you, ok?”

He rubbed her back, hoping that would settle her a little, watching the hand she brought across her still flat stomach again.

 

Somehow, after telling his story, Lewis still had the smug smirk on his face. Kimi knew it was an act – or he was pretty certain of this, after seeing what he had been like in Backfor – but it was a good one, and it was affecting Nico. The German had shuffled so close to Jenson he was practically on his lap, his eyes darting around the room but always ending up back on Lewis. Jenson never took his eyes off of him.

Fernando returned to the bar to pour Kimi another drink, watching Lewis.

“What are you going to do now?” he asked, quietly.

“Depends on Rosberg,” Kimi replied, his voice low.

“But why?” Nico asked, once it was clear Lewis had nothing more to say.

Lewis shrugged. He really wanted a drink, something to stall himself with and wind Nico up even more. But every time he turned to the barman, he just received a glare and a _no_.

“Why not?”

“ _Why not?_ ” Nico repeated. “Because you’ve hurt people.”

“The tramp?” Lewis snorted, “I think I can cope with that.”

“Sebastian,” Nico pointed out. He could blame that on Lewis. He could blame everything that had happened on Lewis. This was his fault.

And Toto.

He knew he was right. He knew he wasn’t going mad.

“I never did anything to him,” Lewis said, his smirk wavering a little when he glanced back at Kimi, but the Finn didn’t seem to be listening.

“No, but he got hurt because of this mess that _you_ have created,” Nico said.

Lewis looked back at Kimi. “This true?” he asked with as much strength in his voice as he could find. It couldn’t be true. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t be alive if this was true.

Kimi nodded. “He was in hospital. Somebody thought it would be a good idea to try to get at me and attacked him.”

“That-.” Lewis spun back around to face Nico, panic slipping onto his face. “You can’t blame me for that.”

“Can’t I?” Nico asked. “Because you do not know how to think more than two steps ahead of your own actions? Where is Toto, Lewis?”

“What?”

“Where is Toto?” Nico asked. “I would like to talk to him. This time without him attempting to convince me I am mad, if possible.”

“He’s gone,” Kimi called over.

“Gone where?”

“How should I know?” Kimi said.

“He left just before Kimi arrived,” Lewis said. “Knew something was about to happen, but he didn’t think it was worth warning me or anything.”

“Why would he?” Kimi asked. “You’re expendable and you’ve played your part. He would know I was not just going to go along with this, so there was no need to keep you quiet.”

“Niki would know where he was,” Nico suggested.

“Not answering.”

It disturbed Kimi a little that he was predictable enough for Niki and Toto to know he wouldn’t go along with their plan. They knew he would go to find Nico, even though they claimed to be doing this for him. Of course, Niki knew him better than anybody. It wasn’t as if this was some stranger off of the street knowing exactly what he would do, but it was still unsettling.

“What do you want to do now?” Kimi asked.

“What?” Nico asked, head shooting up.

“You are the victim in all of this,” Kimi said. “It is down to you to decide what we do about it.”

Nico turned back to Lewis, watching the fear melt onto his face. It only proved how little the Brit knew about him, if he really thought Nico would go through with any of the awful crimes his mind came up with. The most unsettling he could think of was doing to Lewis what he and Toto had convinced him had happened before, but he was not going to allow himself to sink to his level.

“Get out,” Nico muttered.

“What?”

“I am not going to do anything to you, Lewis,” Nico said. “You don’t deserve the satisfaction.”

“What?” It was Kimi this time. He’d offered him Lewis on a plate. He could do whatever he liked.

“Go back to where you’ve been hiding and stay there,” Nico said. “I don’t want you anywhere near me and I’m not going to ruin my life to punish you.”

Lewis stared at him as if he’d gone mad, as did Kimi and Fernando. Jenson was struggling to stop himself beaming, squeezing Nico’s hand under the table to try to tell him how proud he was.

“You are just going to let him go without punishing him then?” Fernando said. “Because it is _easier_?”

“I’m sure the police will be able to deal accordingly with the hit and run,” Nico said. “Maybe you should go there now, Lewis.”

Lewis nodded, his head bobbing like a nodding dog, and stood. Kimi stopped him before he could leave.

“You are not being serious, surely?” he said to Nico.

Nico shrugged. “Why not?”

“He has been trying to drive you insane for months,” he said, holding onto Lewis by the wrist and shaking him. “He has been trying to cause trouble – no, he _has_ been causing trouble.”

“No,” Nico said. “He is just a minion. You said so yourself. Toto, on the other hand…”

“I don’t know where Toto is,” Lewis said.

“I know. You said that,” Nico said. “I will deal with this without you.”


	61. In which shit goes down...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is not a happy chapter. This is a very not happy chapter. I'm sorry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And then I thought "fuck it. let's post another chapter" so here you are.

“We’re probably going to be late to the school now,” Rob said, climbing into the driver’s seat. “Sorry about that.”

“It is ok,” Felipe said. “She is your friend.”

“Yes, but Pea comes first,” Rob said, starting the car. There was too much going on right now. He just needed everything to settle so there were no more surprises and he would be able to deal with everything.

“I do not think Dan is very happy with us,” Felipe said. “Think he may go to the police.”

“He wouldn’t,” Rob said. “Dan wouldn’t do that. He’ll just blackmail me for cake. It’ll be fine.”

He laughed, but he was having a hard enough time convincing himself of that. He didn’t need Felipe getting worried too, though.

It almost seemed like they were in luck as they drove to the school. They were running late to begin with, but the number of red lights hit was a minimum and Rob felt a little proud of himself for timing the trip right.

By the time they got to the school, the playground was almost empty, only a few stragglers dragging their children out of the school gates. They didn’t rush to the classroom, Felipe insisting he walk himself and hobbling along beside Rob.

“You do not think the teacher will be funny with us do you?” Felipe asked.

“I phoned ahead to tell her we were going to be late,” Rob said. “She said she was keeping him behind anyway. Needed to talk to us about something.”

“Us?”

“You,” Rob corrected himself.

“It would be easier if we figured something out,” Felipe said. “We are together and more and more people know that. Cannot hide it forever. Am surprised Felipinho has lasted this long.”

“Once this is all sorted out, I’ll figure something out,” Rob promised, but he’d said that before. He’d said that a number of times and nothing had ever being figured out.

“You better,” Felipe said. “Because if we do not figure something out soon, it is going to be out of our hands.”

It was true and Rob knew it, but it wasn’t as simple as Felipe liked to think it was. He didn’t bother explaining, knowing Felipe didn’t listen when he did try, but knocked on the classroom door.

The class teacher appeared in the window, then stepped back to open the door and let them in. The look on her face was not happy. She looked guilty.

“Come in,” the teacher said, quickly. “There are some things that need to be discussed.”

“Is Felipinho alright?” Felipe asked. “Is this about-.”

The words died in his throat as soon as he came into the classroom. Felipinho sat at the table, tears streaming down his face, his eyes puffy and red. Beside him sat the woman. Beside her, two police officers stood.

This wasn’t about whatever Felipe thought it was about.

“What’s going on?” Rob asked, slowly, trying not to let the panic show on his face.

Felipinho jumped up and ran at his father and Rob helped Felipe pick him up.

“I didn’t do anything, I promise,” the five year old said, trying to wipe his own tears but just getting snot and crayon over his face. “Miss let her in. I didn’t do anything.”

“It’s ok,” Felipe whispered, leaning against the wall to stop himself falling over. “I know you didn’t.”

“Arrest him then,” the woman snapped.

Felipe took a deep breath and shut his eyes, trying to keep calm.

When the police officers stepped forward, Rob jumped in.

“You can’t do this,” he said. “He was _protecting his son_.”

“Sir, could you pass the child here please?” one of the officers asked, holding out their hands for Felipinho.

Felipinho only wrapped his arms around his father’s neck, glaring at the police officer.

“Daddy?”

“Felipinho, you need to do something for me, ok?” Felipe said, his eyes still closed. “You have to be a very brave boy for me, alright? You need to go with the policeman and he’s going to look after you. And you have to be good for him, alright?”

“I don’t want to live with the lady,” Felipinho sobbed. “I want to live with you and Rob. Tell him, Rob.”

Rob just stared at the scene, unable to really think. He should have realised this would happen. He should have known this would happen

“You are not going to live with the lady,” Felipe promised. “I’ll talk to the police officers and then you can come back and live with us, ok?”

Felipinho looked up at him through the tears, then to Rob.

“You’re going to make things better,” Felipinho said. “Tell him, Rob.”

“You can’t do this,” Rob stuttered. He didn’t sound confident enough to convince himself, let alone anyone else. “Felipinho belongs with his father.”

“Sir, could you please pass the child here?” the officer said again, ignoring Rob.

“You have to be a good boy, ok?” Felipe whispered. “Promise me.”

“I promise.”

With help from the police officer, Felipe handed his son over. Felipinho sniffed hard, trying to be brave like he had promised. Felipe gulped back his own tears and gently squeezed Felipinho’s hand.

“Hey, it will all be fine,” he promised. “It is not for long.”

The second officer stepped forward, the same look of guilt on his face as that on the teacher’s.

“Felipe Massa, I am arresting you on suspicion of…”

“You cannot do this,” Rob said, jumping into life again, but the policeman just shouted over him. The officer holding a now squirming Felipinho tried to keep Rob off of his colleague. The woman stepped forward, and Rob could see the smugness on her face.

“Come on, sweetie,” she cooed, trying to take Felipinho from the police officer, but Felipinho did his best to pull away from her, crying louder.

“Rob? Rob, let me stay with you. _Please_.”

“…will be given in evidence.”

The handcuffs snapped shut and Felipe stumbled away, the police officer with a firm grip on his shoulder.

Felipinho launched himself out of the police officers arms towards Rob, slipping free and landing on the floor. Rob had his arms around the wailing child before the woman could get her hands on him.

“Give him here,” she demanded.

“No,” Felipe said, shrugging off the policeman at his shoulder. “No, you cannot have him. I am not letting you have him.”

“Come on, sweetie,” the lady said, holding out her hands for Felipinho. “Come to mummy.”

“You are _not_ having him,” Felipe insisted. “Not after what you did.”

Rob looked between Felipe and the woman, biting his own lip to try to keep himself calm. There was nothing else he could do. Felipe stopped struggling, realising what Rob was thinking.

“No. No, Rob, you can’t.”

“I will get him back, I promise,” Rob said.

“You promised before,” Felipe said. “Rob you can’t.”

Rob handed Felipinho to the woman.

“Rob?”

“It’s alright,” Rob said. “You just have to stay with the lady for a little while.”

“You said I didn’t have to,” Felipinho said. “You _promised_ Rob.”

“I know,” Rob said. “I know what I said but I was wrong and I’m sorry. I am so, so sorry Pea. It’s just for a little while, ok? Just for a little while.”


	62. In which Lewis is a jerk, Felipe is uncooperative, and the lady is not nice

“You will be alright alone, won’t you?” the police lady who had taken them back to the lady’s house said.

“I think so,” the lady said.

“You have the emergency number we gave you,” the police lady said, smiling warmly as she waved goodbye.

Felipinho sat on the stairs where the lady had put him down. He watched the door close, his eyes finally dried out but he was still sniffing a little.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” the lady said, turning to Felipinho. “Come on. What is it you say? Looks like nobody owns you.”

Felipinho remained seated even when the lady took his hand, trying to take him up the stairs to wash his face. He knew he’d promised to be good, but Rob had promised he wouldn’t have to come here and if grown-ups could break their promises then so could he.

“Come on, Felipinho,” the lady sighed, crouching down in front of him when he wouldn’t move. “You do not want all that snot on your face, do you? It looks yucky.”

He’d decided he wasn’t going to move. He wasn’t going to move until Rob or Daddy had come to take him home.

“I know this is confusing right now,” the lady said, gently. “But remember when I said you were lost? Daddy made you lost. Daddy ran away with you when you were only a baby. He did a bad thing and that’s why the police had to take him away.”

“But... but Daddy and Rob said you are a bad person,” Felipinho said slowly, sniffing again even though there was nothing to sniff anymore. “You’re just telling lies to make me like you.”

“No. No, sweetie, listen…”

“You did nasty things to Daddy and you’re going to do nasty things to me too.”

“Felipinho,” the lady snapped, grabbing his wrists so he couldn’t hide behind his hands again. “I am not a bad person, Felipinho. And I know you do not believe that right now, but it is true. Now come upstairs so I can wash your face.”

The lady stood, still holding onto his wrists, and pulled Felipinho up the stairs. He managed to get one hand free and pulled against her, but she was holding too tightly and he couldn’t make her let go.

“We will get you all cleaned up,” the lady said, as she lead him up the stairs. “Then I will cook us something nice to eat. Would you like that?”

“No,” Felipinho said, grumpily.

At the top of the stairs, the lady stopped and, just as Felipinho tried the biggest tug he had ever tried in his entire life, she let go of his hand. He stumbled backwards, carried by his own momentum, and the landing gave way to the stairs.

He fell down the stairs, trying to grip onto the banister and failing, landing at the bottom with a thud. Then there was silence

The lady stood at the top of the stairs, frozen to the spot. Every instinct she had told her to go down the stairs but she couldn’t move.

Felipinho’s wailing brought her back to life. Loud, heavy sobs carried her down the stairs and the lady knelt beside him, pulling him onto her lap and littering his head with gentle kisses.

“It is ok. Mummy is here. Where did you hurt?”

“I- want- Dad- dy,” Felipinho said between sobs, trying to pull himself away from the lady, but it hurt to move.

“Daddy cannot come right now, you know that,” the lady said, gently, running her hands through Felipinho’s hair and searching for blood, but it didn’t look like he’d cut himself. “But it is ok. I am here. Do not worry, sweetie.”

“I- want- _Dad- dy_ ,” Felipinho said again, the wailing only increasing in volume. “You are a _nasty_ lady. You made him go away and you made me come here and I didn’t want to and I _hate_ you.”

Before she could stop herself, the lady brought a hand across his check and Felipinho was so surprised he fell silent, staring at her.

He didn’t know what to say or do. Nobody had ever hit him like that before. Sometimes when he did something dangerous Rob or Daddy would give him a smack on the hand, but that was nothing like the lady. The trip down the stairs felt like nothing compared to the sting in his check. He watched the lady, waiting to see what she did next to see if he was more familiar with that.

“I am _not_ a nasty lady,” the lady said, struggling through her own tears. “I am your mummy. You cannot hate me.”

“I hate you,” Felipinho whispered, standing up. His legs still hurt a little but he could stand properly and he was pretty sure he could run too.

By the time the lady had stood up, Felipinho was out the door and running as fast as he could. He didn’t know where he was, but it didn’t matter as long as it wasn’t with the lady.

 

“I’m not going anywhere until I’ve seen him,” Rob said, marching back over to the seat he’d only vacated to try again to persuade the policeman behind the desk to let him see Felipe. He’d only left the police station to phone lawyer who was with Felipe now.

The other people in the small waiting area were giving him dirty looks, but he didn’t care. They didn’t know his story and he didn’t know theirs. He didn’t want to. He was sure they all had their own problems to deal with and it wasn’t worth starting a fight over a few dirty looks, especially looking at the size of some of the men that had gathered there.

He knew Felipe wouldn’t be happy if he found out Rob had just been sat there all this time. He knew Felipe would want him to be doing something to get Felipinho back, but there was nothing he could do right now. He’d phoned one of the family lawyers that he was most familiar with and the man was looking through the case now but, unless Felipe provided a reason for needing to take his son away, it didn’t look like they were going to get him back.

Rob didn’t think he would give a reason, though.

He hadn’t before and he wouldn’t this time.

 

Felipe hadn’t said much. He answered their questions the best he could but the only thing that was reminding him of the real world was the dull, throbbing pain in his head. He’d told them about the pain but there was nothing they could do for it.

Yes, he took his son.

_Why?_

He couldn’t answer that. Even if he was conscious enough to answer properly, he wouldn’t be able to find the words. Even if he was able to find the words, he knew they would just laugh at him. They wouldn’t believe another word he said.

_We will have to extradite you._

He knew that. He didn’t know why they hadn’t already, why they’d bothered to bring him to the police station when he was going to be asked the exact same thing when he got to Brazil.

Maybe they would give him something for his headache back home, though. There were less rules there.

_Why did you leave your wife and take your new born son with you?_

There was nothing he could say. He looked up at the policemen repeating the same question over and over again, then back down at the table.

_You left with a Mr Fernando Alonso. Do you know where he is?_

Felipe shook his head and mumbled something about splitting up once they arrived in the UK. He couldn’t tell if they believed him or not, but he wasn’t going to say any more on the matter, not without painkillers or something.

_It would be of benefit to you if you cooperated with us._

_Where is Mr Alonso?_

_Why did you take your son?_

The lawyer was called away and Felipe finally looked up. He couldn’t be sure why but the officer that had brought the message met his eyes and gave him a weak smile. The door was closed again.

The interview was suspended.

 

It wasn’t that late, but it was already dark. When Lewis had finally made it back to the grotty little house Toto had insisted he stay in, he found the Austrian wasn’t back. It didn’t surprise him. He doubted Toto would be back at all and, if he was, he wouldn’t return here. With nowhere else to go and no desire to stay in Backfor, Lewis started wondering the streets. He’d find a bar of some kind, he was sure.

Nico had suggested going to the police but that didn’t sound much like Lewis.

He was tired of being careful, as Toto had instructed him before he disappeared off of the face of the planet – abandoned him. Being careful didn’t sound much like Lewis either, and he had as many plans to be careful as he did to go to the police.

He was getting drunk. He just needed a place to start.

Alonso’s seemed like as good a place as any. The bar man hadn’t wanted to serve him before but they probably had some better mannered staff in when the bar was open. There was still a while until opening but the door was unlocked and Lewis figured his money would be worth as much now as in half an hour’s time. Nobody needed to get into any details.

Fernando looked around from where he was giving instructions to two new staff members when the door opened. He said something in Spanish to the two members of staff and they disappeared into the back room. Lewis hopped onto one of the bar stools.

“What do you recommend?” he asked, grinning.

“Getting out,” Fernando said,

“Come on, I have money to spend,” Lewis said.

“We are not open and _you_ are not welcome here.”

“Come on, man, this isn’t fair,” Lewis said. “What have I done to you, hey?”

Fernando came out from behind the bar and, without saying a word to Lewis’ constant questions, dragged the Brit out of the bar.

“You are not welcome here,” Fernando said again. He bunched his fists in Lewis’ shirt and pushed him against the wall of the bar.

“Any reason for that?” Lewis asked. “Racist?”

“You nearly killed an innocent man,” Fernando said. “Would not serve you whatever you looked like.”

Lewis smirked and was about to reply when the patter of little feet alerted them both to the fact they weren’t alone and Fernando let go of Lewis, only to be run into by a small missile.

Looking again, Fernando saw the child, stumbling backwards.

“Felipinho?”


	63. In which Rob decides to help, Nico eats, and Kimi's a bit of a dick.

When Rob finally returned home, he was surprised to see Valtteri was still in, waiting for him in the hall.

“Felipe’s been arrested,” Rob said, quietly.

He hadn’t been able to see him. The family lawyer had eventually arrived and convinced the police to let him speak to Felipe’s lawyer, on the condition that he got Rob out of the station. So Rob was home. Alone. It didn’t feel right.

“I know,” Valtteri said, quietly.

“What?”

The question was answered by the appearance of the woman, marching in from the living room. She’d been crying, but Rob doubted it was as much as he had been the past couple of hours.

“Where is he?” she snapped.

“At the police station, where do you expect?” Rob snapped back. “Get out of my house. Why did you let her in?”

Valtteri held his hands up and stepped back. “She said Felipinho had gone missing. Thought you would be interested in that.”

“Missing?”

“Where is he?” the woman said again. “I know he came to you so there’s no point denying it.”

“I have been at the police station for the past two and a half hours,” Rob snapped. “Trying to undo the damage you’ve already done and, by the sound of it, you’ve gone and made more. How did you lose him?”

“He ran off,” the woman admitted.

“What did you do to him?” Rob asked.

“ _I_ didn’t do anything,” the woman said. “It was you, telling him lies, telling him I was a bad person.”

“You are,” Rob said. “Valtteri, can you hold things here?”

“Of course.”

“What are you doing?” the woman asked.

“Going to find Pea,” Rob said. “No matter what you’ve done, he’s still my son.”

 

“I’m proud of you,” Jenson said, watching Nico bring the two plates of food through from the kitchen. He was starving but, when Nico had offered to cook, Jenson knew he’d wait as long as Nico needed him to for the food. It seemed like ages since Nico had last cooked a meal himself. Long enough since he had last _eaten_ a meal without it being practically force fed by guilt trips.

“For letting Lewis go?” Nico asked, placing Jenson’s dish in front of him before sitting in front of his own.

“Yes,” Jenson said, taking Nico’s hand from across the table and holding it between both of his. “For being the bigger person.”

“I only did it because I panicked,” Nico admitted. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

“It was the right thing,” Jenson insisted.

“And now I just have to find Toto,” Nico muttered, taking his hand away from Jenson’s and turning back to the food. He’d tried phoning, not really expecting it to work. Unsurprisingly, Toto hadn’t answered. There was nothing he could think of to do.

“You’ll find him,” Jenson said. “I’ve faith.”

“I don’t think that will get us very far,” Nico said. “But thank you.”

He still couldn’t believe he’d just let Lewis go off. It would have made more sense to keep an eye on him, in case he really did know where Toto was or something. He should have kept him somewhere he could keep an eye on him or… or _something_. But no. Now he was in no better position than he was in before.

“Maybe Toto was right,” Nico said, quietly.

“Right about what?” Jenson asked. “Giving in to Räikkönen?”

Nico nodded. “I knew there was something wrong with Toto,” he said. “I’d _heard_ him talking about this. But I let him tell me I was mad. What happens if somebody tries that again? I’ll believe anything anybody says. If Elevency was mine, I’d have lost it within a week.”

“That is not true,” Jenson insisted. “You believed Toto because you thought he was on your side. Because he’s been on your side your entire life and why wouldn’t he be on your side?”

Nico shook his head and put his knife and fork down. He knew Jenson was just trying to help but it was patronising and doing nothing to help him.

“Are you staying here tonight?” Jenson asked. “Because I don’t mind either way. I understand.”

“Thank you,” Nico said quietly. “I think… I think I’m going back to mine.”

“Sure,” Jenson said, patting Nico’s hand again. “Do you want me to drive you or…?”

“I can drive myself,” Nico snapped, standing. He rubbed his eyes, trying to calm himself down a little. He could trust Jenson. He didn’t need to snap at him.

 

Once they were alone, the lawyer sat opposite Felipe. He sighed and rubbed his face, leaning on the table. Felipe didn’t know where to look, his eyes flicking between the man he barely knew and the floor.

“Explain to me again what happened before you left your wife,” the lawyer said.

“I did not think it was safe for us to be around her,” Felipe said, quietly.

“You need to tell me why,” the lawyer said. “I need to know what happened, Mr Massa. I cannot do anything for you unless you tell me the entire story.”

Felipe didn’t say anything. He couldn’t look at the lawyer anymore. He knew. Rob had told him, or somebody else had, but he definitely knew.

“Mr Massa… Felipe,” the lawyer said, leaning forward again. “I can only help you if you tell me yourself. I will be honest, this doesn’t look good for you as it is, but if you tell me what I’ve just heard, we may be able to save this. To save your family. I just need to hear you say it.”

“And what if I don’t?” Felipe asked, shaking. He hadn’t even wanted to tell Rob. He told one person and now it seemed like everybody knew. He _knew_ he shouldn’t have told Rob. He should have just kept it a secret, and he would have, if _she_ hadn’t showed up. If she hadn’t showed up and ruined everything.

“If you don’t then there isn’t much I can do,” the lawyer said, leaning back in his chair. “You will be sent back to Brazil, that’s a certain. Your son will stay with your wife. You will be tried and I would suggest you plead guilty.”

She would get Felipinho.

Felipe took a deep breath and looked up at the lawyer.

“She would hit me,” he said, quietly. “And I was scared she’d do the same to Felipinho.”

“Right then,” the lawyer said, taking out his notepad again. “Let’s start with that.”

 

Sebastian had been opening and closing his phone for about half an hour now, tapping at the touch screen but never hitting send. Dan couldn’t see who he was texting or what he was saying, but Daniil caught the name when he passed Sebastian the bowl of crisps the three of them were sharing.

Dan’s phone buzzed. A message from the Russian. Kimi.

“You should phone him,” Dan said, quietly, taking the bowl of crisps from Sebastian. “Or go to see him. He’s going to find out about Hanna at some point.”

“I know,” Sebastian said, putting his phone away. He glanced over at Emily, who was asleep in her pushchair across the room. He’d gone back to get some things with her and there was a travel cot set up in the corner, but he hadn’t gotten around to putting her in it. There wasn’t enough room in the flat for this, but he didn’t know what else to do. “He’ll be mad.”

“He won’t be mad,” Dan said. “We all make mistakes.”

“My child is not a mistake,” Sebastian said, seriously, pulling himself away from Dan.

“I know, I didn’t mean that,” Dan said, quickly, trying to calm Sebastian but failing. “Of course I didn’t mean that. It came out wrong. I just mean, Kimi will understand this. He won’t be mad.”

“You don’t know that, Dan,” Sebastian said. “I’m lucky enough he wants me whilst I have Emily as it is. Let alone another child too.”

“Hey,” Dan said, shuffling over to close the gap Sebastian had made. “You are an amazing person, and Kimi is lucky to have you. And Kimi is lucky to be a part of Emily’s life. And if he decides he doesn’t want you because of a child that has a part of you inside of it, then he doesn’t deserve you.” Dan takes the phone out of Sebastian’s pocket and placing it in Sebastian’s hand. “Phone him.”

Sebastian sighed and dialled Kimi’s number.

 

Kimi had been drinking. He wasn’t _drunk_ , but things were a little fuzzy now and there was a chance he was going to be going to bed at a reasonable time tonight. Or falling asleep on the sofa. That was most likely what was going to happen.

He was a snitch. Niki was going to disown him. Even if it hadn’t been Niki he’d been betraying, he knew his adoptive father would want nothing to do with a snitch.

And he was an idiot. Lewis was gone and he had no idea where Niki or Toto was. Nico didn’t even seem to care and he was going to have to do everything himself, _again_.

He was allowed to have a drink.

Things looked more than a little fuzzy when Sebastian phoned.

He should answer. He hadn’t spoken to him since he left the German with Dan.

Dan.

Funny how Sebastian had left it this long to phone. They had always been texting when Sebastian was with Hanna. It was as if the German couldn’t go half an hour without talking to him. So what had he been doing to distract him from his constant texting?

Dan. He’d been doing Dan.

“What do you want?” Kimi grunted, answering the call.

“Kimi?” Sebastian asked. “I’ve missed you.”

“I bet,” Kimi muttered. “What do you want?”

“There’s… there’s something I need to talk to you about,” Sebastian said. His voice was shaking and things started to look a little clearer.

“Oh, really,” Kimi said. “And what’s that then?”

“It’s…”

“I already know you’ve been fucking Dan,” Kimi said, his voice little more than a growl.

“I don’t know what you…”

“Don’t give me that shit,” Kimi said. “Do not treat me like an idiot.”

“That wasn’t what I was going to say,” Sebastian said, his voice breaking a little. “Kimi, please listen.”

“You weren’t even going to tell me?”

“No, I mean, stop it,” Sebastian said, and Kimi could hear he was crying now, but he had drunk too much to care.

“Hope you are happy there Sebastian,” he said, hanging up.


	64. In which Rob and the lady start a search party and Lewis is a bit of a dick

Fernando sat Felipinho on his desk, crouching down in front of him. Lewis stood a little way behind him. Fernando hadn’t told him to come in, but he’d followed them in anyway.

“Can you go and ask one of the staff to get a fresh dish cloth so I can wipe his face?” Fernando asked. If Lewis was going to hang around, he might as well make himself useful.

Lewis nodded and ducked out of the room to complete the task.

Felipinho was still crying, but had stopped wailing now, sniffing and trying to stop whilst he looked around the strange room. Fernando laughed a little. In another life, he would have been Uncle Nando, and Felipinho would have stayed with him on the weekends and eaten all his chocolate. As it was, the five year old didn’t know him at all.

“What are you doing out here then?” he asked.

“How do you know who I am?” Felipinho asked, curiously.

“I used to know your Daddy,” Fernando said. “Rob has showed me pictures of you. You look a lot like your Daddy when he was little.”

“Rob says Daddy is still is little,” Felipinho said.

“Yes, well, that is true too,” Fernando said, standing. “But he used to be little like you.” Fernando poked the little boy’s stomach, making him giggle a little. “You still have not told me what you were doing out here.”

“Trying to go home but I don’t know the way,” Felipinho said. “The lady said I had to go and live with her but I didn’t want to. And then she took me upstairs but I fell down and then I said I hated her because she’s really nasty and she hit me so I ran away. I want to go home to Rob and Daddy, but I don’t know how to get there.”

Lewis returned with a damp cloth and, gently, Fernando wiped the dried snot and grime from Felipinho’s face. The tears had finally dried up again and his nose was running at a rate a couple of sniffles could deal with. He laughed when Fernando tapped the end of this nose with the cloth when he was finished. The cloth was dumped on the desk beside Felipinho.

“Who is the lady, then?” Fernando asked. He was crouching again, so Felipinho had to look down at him.

“She’s nasty,” Felipinho said. “Daddy said so. He said she was nasty to him and she is going to be nasty to me. That’s why I don’t want to live with her. But… but she’s my mummy.”

Fernando froze. “And she hit you?”

Felipinho nodded. “Here,” he said, pointing to his cheek, which was still bright red.

“Right,” Fernando said, standing. “Let us get you back to Daddy and Rob.”

“But Daddy isn’t at home,” Felipinho said, his voice beginning to wobble again, as Fernando lifted him to sit on his hip. “Daddy went with the police. And then Rob said I had to go and stay with the lady but I don’t want to.”

“It is ok,” Fernando said, even though it didn’t sound like it was ok at all. Felipe had been arrested and _that woman_ was trying to get her hands on Felipinho. “I will take you back to Rob.”

“What are you doing?” Lewis asked as Fernando took Felipinho out of the room. “He needs to go back to his mum, not some guy who his dad lives with.”

“He needs to go back to his family,” Fernando said, taking Felipinho out of the bar through the back door. “And that is Felipe and Rob.”

“His dad’s been arrested,” Lewis hissed, following them closely.

“Wrongly, I am sure,” Fernando said.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Lewis cried. “Since when did you know the tramp so well?”

“Since I was a kid,” Fernando snapped back, pushing open the back door. The cold wind bit him immediately and he hurried over to the car. He placed the child into the back seat and fumbled with the seat belt for a while before strapping him in and closing the car door. When he spun around, he found Lewis was standing far too close.

“That’s why you wouldn’t serve me, isn’t it?” Lewis asked. “Because of the tramp.”

“He is not a tramp,” Fernando snapped. “Now, if you do not want me to call the police, I suggest you leave.”

“No,” Lewis said. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Fine,” Fernando snapped, sliding around Lewis to get into the driver’s seat. When he opened the door, Lewis slammed it shut.

“Neither are you.”

 

“What did you do?” Rob asked as he drove the car as slowly as possible, keeping his eye out. The woman was right about one thing, though. Felipinho would be most likely trying to make his way home. This wasn’t the nicest area of Elevency, though, and Rob hoped he hadn’t made it this far, but he was keeping his eye out.

“What do you mean?” the woman asked.

“Pea is a good boy,” Rob said. “He wouldn’t run away without reason. He would have waited for me or Felipe to come and pick him up. So what did you do?”

“Nothing,” the woman said again. “I told you at the house. It was you and Felipe putting lies into his head, telling him he couldn’t trust me.”

“You beat Felipe and then kidnapped a child one, two, three times,” Rob reminded her. “I think he could figure out himself he couldn’t trust you.”

“He said he hated me,” the woman said, quietly. When Rob looked at her, she was looking at her hands. For a moment, just a moment, he almost felt sorry for her. But, after everything she had done, she deserved everything she’d received.

Rob didn’t say anything, focusing on trying to spot Felipinho. There weren’t many people out around here, which should have been a good thing. The fewer people Felipinho could run into, the better.

“What if he’s been hurt?” the woman whispered. She was shaking, peering out of the other window in the same search. Rob could see her tear streaked face in the window and it almost made his stomach heave. “What if he’s collapsed?”

“What do you mean?”

“He fell down the stairs, before he ran away,” the woman said, quietly. “I tried to check to make sure he was ok, but… but what if he wasn’t? He could have hit his head and collapsed.”

“He won’t have,” Rob said, automatically. He couldn’t look at her now but could hear in her voice how heavy she was crying. “He’ll be fine. He’s like his father.”

The woman laughed a little, but it was too weak for it to betray any emotion.

“You really care about them, don’t you?” she said, quietly.

“They’re the only family that I have,” Rob said. He wouldn’t look at her, wouldn’t let himself. “I’m not going to let you ruin that.”

“What about when he leaves you?” the woman said. “What happens when he decides he doesn’t need you anymore, takes Felipinho away? Because he will. He’ll leave you like he left me. I’m _protecting_ you.”

“That is _not_ going to happen,” Rob snapped. He took his eyes from the street for half a second to glare at her.

The woman had her arms folded, looking purposefully out of the window. It was as if… as if she really did believe it.

 

“What is the matter with you,” Fernando snapped, glaring at Lewis. He pushed the Brit away and tried to open the door again, but Lewis closed it. “Whatever your problem is, it can wait. It is more important he gets home.”

“Get in the back,” Lewis ordered.

“What?”

“Get in the back of the car,” Lewis ordered, dragging Fernando around to the other side. “Now.”

“What is wrong with you?” Fernando tried. It was becoming easier and easier to see how Lewis could have no remorse for what he’d done. The man was clearly insane.

“I don’t know how many times I have told Smedley he shouldn’t have the tramps around here,” Lewis said.

“He’s not a tramp,” Fernando said. “You’ve no idea what he’s been through. What any of them have been through.”

“A tramp’s a tramp,” Lewis said.

Fernando pushed Lewis away, raising his fist, but Lewis struck first, catching Fernando just under his cheekbone. Fernando stumbled back into the car and Lewis pushed him inside.

“It’s time we got going,” Lewis said, jumping into the driver’s seat. “Sit tight.”

“What’s going on?” Felipinho asked, quietly.

“It is ok,” Fernando repeated. When he tried the door, they were locked, unsurprisingly.

“Yeah,” Lewis said, cheerfully, pulling away from the bar. “It is ok.”

 

Sebastian hadn’t said a word since the phone call. Dan didn’t know what to say, struggling to start a conversation about anything. He knew Sebastian hadn’t said anything about the pregnancy. He hadn’t gotten around to that. He hadn’t said much at all.

“Seb, you’re going to have to talk to me at some point,” Dan said, eventually, trying to put his arm around his best friend.

Sebastian jerked away. “Get off of me.”

“Seb, what has happened,” Dan asked, keeping his hands to himself this time, but leaning forward. Sebastian had to talk to him.

“He knows, Dan,” Sebastian snapped, glaring at his friend. “He knows what happened that time.”

Dan stared at Sebastian, trying to figure out what Kimi could have found out that would leave Sebastian like this, but there was nothing. He glanced over at Daniil, in case the Russian had some idea, but Daniil just shrugged and went to the kitchen to make coffee. It was all he could think to do.

“What has happened, Sebastian,” Dan said, gently.

“When I came here drunk,” Sebastian explained, slowly. “What you… I… when we… you know.”

“He knows?” Dan asked. The confusion on his face had promptly turned to horror. He was dead. He was very, very dead.

Sebastian nodded.

“Fuck,” Dan whispered. “Are you sure? I mean, you’re really sure?”

“I’m sure,” Sebastian snapped, jerking away from Dan again. “I need to go and see him, Dan.”

“You can’t,” Dan said, quickly.

“I _need_ to,” Sebastian said. “You can’t tell me what to do, Dan. Why shouldn’t I go over there?”

“It’s late,” Dan said, desperately. He couldn’t really figure out why he didn’t want Sebastian to go to see Kimi, except that it would probably end with Sebastian getting hurt, and who would be the one picking up the pieces then? “He’ll be tired and irritable. Go and see him tomorrow.”

By tomorrow, he’d be able to come up with a plan of some kind.

“Please Sebastian,” Dan said, taking the coffee Daniil offered.

“Alright,” Sebastian muttered. He glanced over at Dan, but the smile on his face said he believed him.


	65. In which Lewis has a plan and Sebastian goes to explain

“He has to be here somewhere,” Rob muttered. They’d been driving around for what felt like hours, but it had only been half an hour. There was no sign of him. Nothing. “We have to phone the police.”

“Oh, and they have been so much use for the past five years,” the woman snapped.

“It isn’t going to do any harm,” Rob said, pulling to a stop so he could pull out his mobile.

The woman watched him tap out the number for emergency services on his phone and ask for the police. Rob couldn’t figure out what she was thinking, her face blank as he told the person on the other end of the phone what was going on. She’d calmed down a lot whilst they’d been driving, saying very little unless it was to mutter how hopeless this was. It was clear she cared, Rob couldn’t deny that. In any other situation, he’d take pity on her. He’d seen that look in dozens of people – the desperation and lack of hope. He knew her like he knew everyone else he’d helped at Halfway Houses, but he knew what she’d done too, and he was not going to fall for it.

“Yes, sorry,” he said, quickly when the operator asked for the third time for a description of Felipinho. He quickly gave one, trying to get off the phone as soon as possible. If he was honest, he had as much faith in the police as the woman did.

“What did they say?” she asked when he hung up.

“They’re going to put out a search for him,” Rob said. What good that was going to do, he didn’t know. “They’re sending someone back to the house too. Maybe you should go back to speak to them.”

“I am not going anywhere,” the woman said. “I am staying with you and we are finding Felipinho.”

“Right then,” Rob said, putting the phone back into his pocket and starting the car again. “Let’s go and find him.”

 

“What’s going to happen?” Felipinho asked in a stage whisper. He kept looking up at Lewis, but he didn’t think the Brit was listening,

“I don’t know,” Fernando said, quietly, holding Felipinho’s hand when he reached for him. “But nothing is going to happen to you. I promise.”

“Rob promised I wouldn’t have to go with the lady but I did,” Felipinho said. He was still angry at that. They’d _pinkie_ promised. You couldn’t just break a pinkie promise. It was special.

Fernando didn’t know what to say and, not wanting to make things any more confusing or scary for him, didn’t say anything.

Lewis glanced back at the pair of them.

“You should have just served me a drink, Alonso,” he called back. “We wouldn’t be in this mess if it wasn’t for that. Or you wouldn’t be, anyway.”

“This is insane,” Fernando called back. “All this over a stupid drink?”

“Oh, no. All this is because my boss screwed up,” Lewis said. “The stupid drink just gave me an idea.”

If he could wriggle his way between Rosberg and Räikkönen again, things would be back on track for Toto and Niki, and he would probably get a bonus for that. He had something like a plan, and a pretty good one too, and, whilst he knew Toto would rather he run it past him first, he wasn’t here. This was a now or never opportunity and Lewis was taking it.

“What kind of idea?” Fernando asked. They were in Backfor now and Fernando didn’t like the feeling this was giving him. This wasn’t going to end well.

“Probably not one you’re going to like,” Lewis said, searching for the right street. In some places in Elevency, you could do pretty much anything you want and nobody would come out to see what was going on. He needed one of those places. “You’re going to go to Nico and tell him everything I do to you was done by Räikkönen.”

Fernando snorted. There was no way he was going to willingly be part of Lewis’ plan even if it didn’t involve screwing everything up.

“You’re going to tell him that everything I told him was a lie made up by Räikkönen,” Lewis said. “And the fact I am alright was a trick pulled by him.”

“And at what point in this plan do you check yourself into the mental hospital?” Fernando asked. “I am not going through with this.”

Lewis pulled to a stop in a car park that looked like it hadn’t been used in years. The buildings surrounding it were covered in scaffolding but no work had been done on them since the support was put up. Regeneration in this part of town had been dropped before it had even begun, judged to be a waste of money.

“You are going through with it,” Lewis said, turning around to face his two passengers. “Because I will have this one. And if you don’t go through with it… I think you can figure out the rest. Now out of the car.”

There was a click as the back door unlocked. Lewis climbed out of the car and, as he made his way back around to Fernando’s door, Fernando turned to Felipinho, undoing the seat belt.

“You have to run, ok?”

“Why?” Felipinho asked.

Fernando gulped. “You just have to get away, ok? Go back to Rob.”

“But you said nothing was going to happen,” Felipinho said.

“And this is how I am going to make sure that happens,” Fernando said.

Lewis opened the door and dragged Fernando out. He stumbled a little, but stayed upright, bunching his hands into fists.

“I will fight you if this is what you want, Lewis,” he said.

Lewis smirked, pulling the gun from his waistband. He’d only fired it twice, one in a practice Toto had forced him to take and once by accident. He’d little confidence that this was going to go how he wanted it to, but he knew what he wanted to happen.

“No, that isn’t what I want.”

Felipinho was running as fast as he could towards the exit when he heard the gun shot.

Maybe the lady wasn’t such a bad option after all.

 

Once Dan had gone to bed and Daniil retired to his own room, Sebastian pulled on his shoes and coat. He needed to go and see Kimi. To explain. Maybe he wouldn’t listen, but Sebastian didn’t care. He needed to make sure he’d done the right thing.

It was colder than he expected to be outside, but he just pulled his coat tighter around himself and hurried on. It wasn’t a long walk to Kimi’s and if he rushed he’d be there in less than ten minutes.

When he arrived, it took ten solid minutes of knocking before Kimi answered the door. He didn’t let Sebastian in straight away, looking him up and down with a sneer on his face. The tears that had been falling down Sebastian’s face had dried up but he felt like might burst out crying again.

“What do you want?”

“Let me explain.”

“So it’s true?” Kimi asked.

“No, I mean… Can we talk about this inside?” Sebastian asked. “It’s cold.”

“No,” Kimi said, crossing his arms. “Are you done?”

“Let me explain,” Sebastian tried. “Please.”

“Why should I?” Kimi asked. “Never tried to explain when you did it.”

Sebastian could feel the tears prickling at his eyes again and wanted nothing more than to turn around and run away, _again_ , but he needed to explain himself. Kimi needed to know what really happened. He needed to know about Hanna. And he needed to know he loved him.

“Let me come in,” Sebastian said again, gulping back the tears.

“If you want to explain, explain here,” Kimi said.

Sebastian gulped again and pulled his coat tighter around him. “Me and Dan,” he began, because it felt right to clear that up first.

“You’ve been fucking,” Kimi said.

“No,” Sebastian said, quickly. “No, it wasn’t like that Kimi. It was once. I was drunk. We both were. I don’t even remember it. It meant nothing and that is why I did not tell you.”

Kimi said nothing falling to lean against the door frame. Sebastian could smell the alcohol on him now, but it wasn’t important.

“Well?”

“Well what?” Kimi asked.

“Well aren’t you going to say something?” Sebastian asked, confused. He didn’t know what kind of a reaction he’d been expecting but he’d been expecting a reaction.

“What do you want me to say?” Kimi asked. “Congratulations? I forgive you?”

“Something,” Sebastian said, shrinking away from Kimi. “I just wanted you to say something.”

“Go away,” Kimi said.

“It meant _nothing_ ,” Sebastian cried, pulling on Kimi’s arm to stop the Finn retreating back into the house. “It was just a stupid, drunken mistake.”

“Isn’t that how we started out?” Kimi said.

“Yes but that was different,” Sebastian said.

“How?”

“Because I _love_ you,” Sebastian snapped.

It didn’t make Kimi stop like Sebastian had hoped. He just shrugged the German off of him and disappeared inside the house, slamming the door shut behind him. Sebastian fell into it, sobbing like an idiot. He knocked again, because he couldn’t admit Dan was right. He needed to explain this now.

Kimi didn’t open the door again.


	66. In which history repeats itself a little

Lewis couldn’t find the kid anywhere and, with Fernando bleeding all over the backseat, he didn’t really have time to send out a search party. There was a chance the Spaniard would go through with the plan even if Lewis didn’t have Felipinho to blackmail him with, and he was going to have to go with that chance. He’d been so close though. So close to the perfect plan.

Fernando had his hand on his stomach, trying to stop the bleeding the best he could. It wasn’t working though and if he didn’t get to hospital soon, he was going to die, he was sure.

“I’ll find the kid,” Lewis promised.

“You haven’t so far,” Fernando pointed out, whispering through barely open lips. His eyes were screwed shut, as if that might help, but it didn’t feel like it.

“You’re going to go through with this,” Lewis said.

“And if I don’t?” From somewhere he found the energy to smirk because, in a strange kind of way, this was a little funny.

“I’ll find the kid,” Lewis said again, but he could tell Fernando didn’t believe him. “And his father. I nearly killed him once, I’ll do it again.”

“I think I’ll call your bluff,” Fernando said, coughing a little then groaning at the pain in his stomach when he did so.

“I’ve killed you,” Lewis said.

“I’m not dead yet,” Fernando said. “And if you want this plan of yours to work I’m going to have to stay alive at least a little longer.”

“Listen,” Lewis snapped, spinning around to face Fernando. There was a thud and the car shuddered. Lewis spun back around and stopped the car whilst Fernando tried to shift to see what was going on.

“You hit someone?”

Lewis scrambled out of the car to see what he had hit. Whoever it was had been thrown a couple of meters ahead of the car, into the deserted road. Wincing a little, Fernando shifted himself so he could see who Lewis was approaching. At first, he didn’t recognise the man and he almost settled down with the relief that it was nobody he cared about. But the face struck him as familiar.

“Sebastian?” Lewis said, uncertainly, crouching down in front of the body. “Shit.”

 

“Rob?” the woman said suddenly, clutching Rob’s arm.

“If this is another observation that this isn’t working, I swear to god.”

“Stop the car.”

Rob stopped the car, trying to see whatever it was the woman had seen to make her stop. The street had once been a small high street, but the shops here had all closed down a long time ago. Overflowing bins that hadn’t been emptied in years and half broken benches lined the street and, on one of the benches-

“Is that Pea?”

The woman was out of the car before Rob was, but he followed close behind. They really shouldn’t have been parking there, but he didn’t care. None of that mattered.

“Pea!”

The tiny figure on the bench looked up, then stood. He saw the lady first and was about to start running again – even though his legs were tired now and he felt like he’d been running _forever_ – when he spotted Rob.

“Rob!”

“Are you ok? Are you hurt?”

Felipinho raced past the lady and into Rob’s arms. When Rob picked him up, he wrapped his own arms around Rob’s neck, determined to never let go again.

“There were two men and one was Daddy’s friend but the other was a bad man and he took us away and Daddy’s friend made me run away and I think the bad man shot him with a gun,” Felipinho said, every word rushed and muffled when he buried his face into Rob’s chest. “We have to help him, Rob.”

“Felipinho, sweetie, come here,” the lady tried, holding out her arms for Felipinho.

He just glared at her, holding on to Rob tighter. “No,” he said. “Rob, you can’t make me go with her again. I’ll run away again. I hate her. She hit me.”

Rob’s half-hearted shushes fell silent as he felt himself turn to ice. “You what?”

“Give him to me,” the lady said, still holding out her hands for Felipinho. “He’s my son.”

“Who you hit,” Rob said. “No. No, he isn’t going anywhere with you. Not until we’ve been to the police and see what they think.”

“You think they’ll side with you?” the lady asked as Rob took him back to the car.

“I think they’ll side with _him_ ,” Rob said, nodding down at Felipinho, who was trying to go to sleep in his arms, still mumbling about a bad man with a gun. He never should have let him go. He never should have let this happen. But it was too late for any of that now. “If you’re coming with us, get in the car. Now.”

 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive home with you?” Jenson asked as he helped Nico clear away after dinner,

“I’m not-.”

“I know you’re not,” Jenson said, wrapping his arm around Nico’s waist and burying his face in the back of his neck. “I just don’t want to leave you alone.”

“I’m not-.”

“I know you’re not,” Jenson said again, holding Nico a little closer. “That doesn’t mean I don’t want to stay with you, though. You don’t _have_ to go back.”

Nico could feel Jenson smiling against his neck but, before he could decide if he wanted to lean into the hug or squirm away, someone knocked on the door.

Jenson sighed, his breath warm against the back of Nico’s neck, and pulled away from him to go and answer the door, leaving Nico to wash up alone.

Maybe he would stay here. It made no sense to turn down a perfectly good offer.

“Nico?” Jenson called through. “I think it’s for you.”

 

Lewis was banging on Kimi’s door, trying to hold Sebastian upright at the same time. He hadn’t woken up since the accident. Lewis knew he had blood on his hands and he knew he looked like the guiltiest person on the planet right now, but somewhere in his head this could work.

When Kimi still didn’t answer, Lewis tried the door and was a little surprised to find it open.

“Kimi?” he called uncertainly, peering into a dark, empty room. “Mr Räikkönen, I think… Fuck.”

He shifted and eased Sebastian onto the sofa. He didn’t look that hurt, but he must have hit his head at some point which was why he wasn’t awake. He realised a little too late that it probably hadn’t been a good idea to move him, in case he’d broken something, but it was too late to be worried about that. After making sure he could breath, Lewis left Sebastian on the sofa to try to find Kimi.

“Kimi?” Lewis tried, opening the bedroom door.

Kimi was sat on the bed, a bottle in one hand, his phone in the other.

 

This was how they’d started out.

This was how they had started out.

This was how they had bloody started out and it was going to be how Sebastian started with Dan.

This was never supposed to happen. They were never supposed to mean anything to each other, not really. They were supposed to go on as friends, like normal people.

He should have never expected this to mean anything.

“Kimi?” Lewis said, uncertainly, edging into the room. “It’s Sebastian.”

“What?” Kimi grunted.

“It’s Sebastian,” Lewis said again. Kimi wasn’t looking up at him, making him feel even more uncomfortable. “I don’t know, but I think he got hit by a car or something.”

Kimi’s eyes rolled up from the phone in his hand up to look at Lewis. Lewis spotted the bottle. This wasn’t what he imagined it to be like.

“He’s in the living room,” Lewis said. “He’s not awake. I didn’t know what to do.”

“Why’s he here?” Kimi said, his voice slurring a little, though Lewis couldn’t be sure he wasn’t making that up.

“I… I didn’t know what else to do,” Lewis said.

“Get him out,” Kimi ordered.

“What?”

“Get him out of my house,” Kimi barked, making Lewis stumble backwards a little.

There was something going on here he didn’t understand. Maybe when Kimi was sober things would go more to plan.

“Alright,” he said, quickly, ducking into the other room to phone for an ambulance and clean up his hands.

 

“Jenson phone an ambulance,” Nico called, grabbing a coat from the stand by the door and wrapping it around Fernando. He didn’t dare move him, crouching down beside him in the doorway. “Fernando, wasn’t it? Fernando, what happened?”

Fernando was barely awake, his eye lids fluttering and consuming way more energy than they should have done. Nico could trace the trail of blood back to the road, then it disappeared. Someone had dropped him off here. Someone wanted him to see this.

“It’s ok,” he said, gently, falling back so he was sitting down. “We’ll get you to hospital, alright, but you need to tell me who did this.”

“Hamilton hit Sebastian,” Fernando tried to say, although all he could hear himself was a gargled mess. “Tells Kimi it was you.”

“What?” Nico said. “Just tell me who did this, alright? Don’t strain yourself.”

“Kimi is coming for you,” Fernando said, clearer this time.

Speechless, Nico just stared at him, the sound of Jenson calling the ambulance fading into the background.


	67. In which Sebastian is missing and Jenson has a plan

Daniil was woken early in the morning by the sound of a baby crying. He sat and listened to it for a few minutes, trying to work out why a baby would be here and why he wasn’t just dreaming, but he got fed up of the noise and got up to see if he could quieten it before long.

Emily stood in her travel cot, silent as soon as Daniil came in with a curious look on her face. Sebastian was nowhere to be seen – bathroom, Daniil thought – so he crossed the small living area and took Emily from her cot.

“What is the matter with you, little one?” Daniil asked. “Noisy.”

Emily giggled as Daniil rocked with her, waiting uncomfortably to Sebastian to come back in. After ten minutes, far too long for someone to be in the bathroom for, he judged, Daniil went to investigate, only to find the bathroom empty. Sebastian was not here.

“It is ok, little one,” he whispered when Emily started whimpering. It was not ok. “Dan!”

This was not definitely as bad as he thought it was. There might have been a perfectly good explanation.

Knocking quickly before, Daniil went into Dan’s room. Sebastian wasn’t here, either, not that Daniil had expected him to be. Dan blinked up at him, barely awake.

“Why are you holding… what’s happened?”

“Sebastian is missing.”

 

They’d been sat in the police station all night. After all the questions, Felipinho had curled up against Rob and gone to sleep, but Rob hadn’t been able to. He wasn’t going until he saw Felipe and this time he meant it. They must have known by now what the woman was like. Why wouldn’t they let him go?

At least the woman hadn’t been let out, he kept reminding himself. At least Felipinho was out here with him and not away with her somewhere. They’d tried to get him to go into emergency foster care, but after the screaming session, in which he had not let go of Rob for at least an hour and Rob was sure he’d gone deaf, they’d given that up.

Rob was woken – he’d just shut his eyes for five minutes, he would insist, he had not fallen asleep – by a gentle shake of the shoulder. His eyes flickered open and he automatically held Felipinho closer to him, in case this was somebody else trying to take him away.

Felipe grinned down at him. It was a tired, worn grin, but it was happy.

Rob blinked up at him, opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, then decided it was better to not say anything.

Felipe laughed. “She admitted it, Rob. Everything. She told them what she did.”

He didn’t really believe it himself, but that was what they had said when they let him go. That was why he was here.

Rob unwrapped his arm from Felipinho to bring Felipe down into a hug. Felipe stumbled a little, but he was still laughing, and fell into the seat beside Rob.

“So, we are going home now?” he asked.

“I think maybe we should wake Pea up first,” Rob said, giving Felipinho a small nudge.

Still wobbling on his feet, Felipe came to Rob’s other side and lifted Felipinho onto his lap, standing slowly whilst the five year old tried to wake himself up. With Rob helping him a little as he walked, Felipe carried Felipinho out of the police station and into the cold morning.

“Rob?” Felipinho asked, still rubbing his eyes. “I thought we were waiting for Daddy?”

Rob laughed. Felipinho had been pretty delirious all night, talking about a bad man with a gun that nobody really understood much until he had eventually fallen asleep.

“You did,” Felipe said, quietly, placing a kiss gently on the top of Felipinho’s forehead.

Felipinho’s eyes flicked open and he looked up at Felipe. For a moment there was only the look of shock on his face, but it slowly fell into a grin and he settled with his head against Felipe’s chest, ready to go back to sleep.

 

“It isn’t your fault,” Jenson tried to tell Nico once the nurse had left. “You didn’t ask for any of this. It’s Kimi’s fault.”

“It doesn’t matter whose fault it is,” Nico snapped, shaking again. He shouldn’t have been crying. He barely knew the man. But that didn’t mean anything to him. It was still his fault, no matter what Jenson said. Somebody was still dead because of him. “I should have been faster, or realised what Lewis had done sooner, or _something_.”

“You couldn’t have stopped this happening,” Jenson tried again.

“But I _could_ have,” Nico said. “I could have and I didn’t.”

Maybe he knew that wasn’t entirely true – there was no way he could have seen this coming – but it still felt like Nico was responsible. Kimi had sent it as a warning to him, hadn’t he? If he had just handed over control like Toto had told him to, none of this would have happened.

“Nico, listen to me,” Jenson said, taking both of Nico’s hands in his and forcing the German’s eyes onto his own. “There is no way you could have known any of this was going to happen. And there’s no way you can change what has happened. You just have to think about what you’re going to do next.”

“What I’m going to do next!” Nico cried. “I’m going to kill Räikkönen.”

“That’s what he wants you to do, isn’t it?” Jenson asked, gently, trying to calm Nico down because people were beginning to stare now. “He killed this man to start things off between you. He’s prepared. You’re not.”

He was right. Of course he was right. Räikkönen must have been planning this thing for a while. The whole story Lewis had told was a lie. Everything. Which didn’t make that much sense. It would mean Toto had done nothing wrong, and if that were true he would answer the phone. Unless…

“Räikkönen has Toto.”

“What?”

“He must do,” Nico said. The reasoning made perfect sense in his head. “Toto wouldn’t go along with this. He just wouldn’t. I need to help him.”

When Nico jumped up, Jenson pulled him back down. “Calm down. You have no idea where he is or what Räikkönen even has planned next. You need to think this through, Nico, or you’re going to get yourself killed.”

“Then what do you suggest I do?” Nico snapped. “Sit here and wait for Räikkönen to come after me? To come and do to me what he did to him?”

Nico jabbed a finger at the doors through which they had taken Fernando.

“Phone Kevin.”

“Because that’s going to help.”

“Well I don’t know what to do, Nico,” Jenson said. “And Kevin might. And even if he doesn’t, you need to let him know what’s happened anyway, don’t you?”

Nico fell back in the chair, annoyed that Jenson was right again and even more annoyed that he hadn’t thought of it first. He needed to get his head straight or he was going to end up dead.

“We could just…” Jenson fell silent, knowing the suggestion was just going to annoy Nico even more, but it was too late.

“We could just what?” Nico asked.

“Run,” Jenson suggested, looking sideways over at Nico to gain his reaction.

“Run?”

“It’s a stupid idea,” Jenson said. “I never should have said it.”

“You think I should run?” Nico asked.

“I think it would kill me to see anyone hurt you,” Jenson said, running his hand through Nico’s hair and letting it rest on the back of his neck. “And if it was a choice between letting you get hurt or running, I would tell you to run every time. Stuff dignity. Stuff everything.”

“It would be so easy,” Nico said, quietly.

“I know.”

“But it would be giving Räikkönen what he wants,” Nico said.

“I don’t care,” Jenson said. “I don’t care what Räikkönen wants, or what Toto wants, or what anybody wants. Just you.”

He leaned forward and kissed Nico’s forehead, surprised to find a smile on the German’s face when he pulled away. He’d finally said the right thing.

“Thank you.”

 

“They are not in, Dan,” Daniil said, shuffling from foot to foot to try to keep himself warm. “Let’s just go home and try phoning him again.”

“The car’s still here,” Dan said, waving behind him at Kimi’s car before he started hammering on the door again.

Daniil sighed. They couldn’t wait out here all morning. If nothing else, Emily was getting hungry and they were going to have to sort her out if they didn’t find Sebastian soon. Dan was sure he was here though.

“Maybe he went to see Hanna?” Daniil suggested.

“And he just left Emily with us?” Dan said. It didn’t sound right to him. None of this made any sense. “Kimi. Will. You. Just. Answer. The. God. Damn. Door.”

On cue, Kimi opened the door, rubbing his head with his free hand.

“What?”

All Dan’s cockiness was gone in an instant and he would have taken a step back if his legs had let him.

“Is Sebastian here?”

“No, now piss off.”

Kimi went to shut the door and go back into the dark so he can make his hangover cure when a memory from the night before hit him.

Dan and Sebastian.

“You don’t know where he is?”

“We woke up this morning and he wasn’t there,” Daniil said. “He left Emily with us, though, so we were a little worried.”

“Emily?” Kimi peered past Daniil into the car where Emily was waiting, beginning to grow restless again. “Why is she not with Hanna?”

“Sebastian didn’t tell you?” Dan asked.

“Tell me what?”

“Hanna went to hospital,” Dan said, slowly. “And she’s pregnant.”


	68. In which something isn't right with Felipe and Kevin's prepared

Something wasn’t right with Felipe. Rob couldn’t tell what. He couldn’t tell what made him realise this either. They’d been fine all the way home. They’d been fine making breakfast for Felipinho and fine when Felipinho had insisted on a story because he hadn’t had one the night before, but now the five year old was lying on the floor colouring whilst they pretended to watch some crappy morning television show and something was not right.

“Felipe?”

“Hmmm?” Felipe wasn’t looking at him, apparently glued to the television.

“What’s wrong?”

“You let him go,” Felipe said, as if he was announcing the fact they needed more milk.

“I what?”

“You let him go,” Felipe said again, turning to Rob this time. “You let her have my son. She could have done anything to him. She could have killed him.”

“There was nothing else I could do,” Rob said, slightly confused as to why he was bringing this up now. “Felipe, please. Please don’t.”

“Don’t what?” Felipe asked. “Do not get upset because you abandoned my son? Abandoned both of us?”

“That isn’t true,” Rob said. “There was nothing I could do. And I got him back, didn’t I? I didn’t just let her run off with him.”

“You did not know for sure you could get him back, though, did you?” Felipe snapped. “And you could not be sure what would happen whilst he was with her. I could have never seen him again.”

“Do you think I don’t know that,” Rob snapped back. “Do you think it didn’t scare me to death handing him over to her? But. There. Was. Nothing. Else. I. Could. Do. What did you want me to do Felipe?”

“Stop it,” Felipinho snapped, struggling onto his feet. “Stop fighting.”

“Pea? Pea we weren’t fighting,” Rob said, gently.

“Yes you were,” Felipinho said. “It’s about the lady, isn’t it?”

He looked, accusingly, between his parents, waiting for an answer. Rob didn’t know what to say, not wanting to annoy Felipe even more than he already had, but he got the feeling Felipe didn’t want to take the question either.

“It is ok, isn’t it?” Felipinho asked when neither of them answered. “I don’t have to go back to her, do I?”

“No,” Felipe said, quickly. “Of course not. You never have to go back to her again.”

“Then what is it?” Felipinho asked.

“Nothing,” Felipe insisted. “What are you drawing?”

 

Lewis stood when he saw Kimi rush into the waiting room, but the Finn didn’t even notice he was there, heading straight for the desk. Daniil was helping Dan hobble through behind him, Emily waddling beside them, calling for Kimi to slow down.

“Kimi?” Lewis called, uncertainly. He knew Kimi had been acting a little funny the night before, but hadn’t known what to make of it.

“What are you doing here?”

“I brought Sebastian in,” Lewis said, slowly. “Don’t you remember? I came to see you but you… you didn’t care.”

“Brought him in?” Dan asked. “What happened?”

“I don’t know,” Lewis lied. He knew he could make this work for him but he wasn’t entirely sure how. “I found him last night. I think he got hit by a car or something.”

“Where is he?”

“They haven’t come in yet,” Lewis said. “They took him away to… I don’t know. He wasn’t awake.”

He could feel himself shaking, unable to stop. There was no way Kimi could know this was his fault. There was no way he was going to get the blame for this.

Just as Dan and Daniil made it over to them, Kimi marched back over to the desk to demand to know where Sebastian was.

“We can’t see him yet,” Lewis called after him. “We just have to wait.”

Kimi glared at Lewis, but fell into the seat beside him anyway. There was no use causing trouble here. It was only going to make things worse.

Emily sat on Daniil’s lap, looking between the four strangers.

“Dada?”

“In a minute,” Dan said, smiling and trying to cheer her up.

“Breggy?”

“We should get her something to eat,” Daniil said, assuming that was what Emily was trying to say. Nobody moved. He couldn’t even tell if Kimi and Lewis had even heard him. With a sigh he stood, holding Emily on his hip and pulling Dan up with him. “We’ll go and get her some food.”

Dan frowned, not quite sure why he had to come too, but Daniil figured the less time they spent with Kimi, the less likely they were going to cause trouble, and that sounded good to him.

Kimi watched them go before turning to Lewis.

“What really happened?”

“I don’t know.”

“So you just stumbled across him in the street?” Kimi asked. “Strangely enough, I do not believe this. What really happened?”

“I heard this screech and when I got round the corner, there was Sebastian,” Lewis said. He was making this up on the spot and trying hard to commit it all to memory, or else he was going to trip himself up. “He wasn’t awake when I got there. I didn’t see the car. I didn’t see anything.”

“If you are lying, I will find out,” Kimi snarled. “And if I find out you are lying, you’re going to find yourself back in your hospital room, and the only way you’re coming out of it is in a body bag.”

 

Kevin did not know what to say. He just kept looking between Jenson and Nico, hoping to be told this was all a joke or something, but nobody was laughing. Nobody had died here since the war, and that was not going to happen again.

“What do we do?” he asked.

“We were hoping you might have some idea,” Jenson said when Nico didn’t reply.

“Me?” Kevin asked. “What about Toto?”

“Toto is missing,” Nico said. “We have to assume Räikkönen has him. You are the only one left that I trust.”

Even that trust was wavering a little, but he wasn’t going to tell Kevin that. He didn’t need to know.

“Are you sure you believe this guy?” Kevin asked, slowly. “It might be a trick to get you to go after Räikkönen. I mean, why would Räikkönen kill him and let him tell you so you could get ready?”

“Who else would it be?” Nico asked. It came out more accusingly than he meant it to. He just could not see what Kevin was trying to get at.

“I do not know,” Kevin admitted. “Toto? Lewis?”

“Why would Fernando do as they told him if he knew he couldn’t live?” Nico asked. “And there is no way he did not know he was dying. I am surprise he lasted as long as he did.”

Kevin shrugged. “I just mean that I do not think it is such a good idea to try to fight Räikkönen if we do not know for sure we have to.”

“And how do you suggest we find out if we have to?” Jenson asked.

Asking was out of the question. Even he could see that. He was still trying to learn how things worked in the world Nico had been pushed into, still trying to learn how he could help. But some things, like this, needed pointing out.

“We find Lewis and Toto,” Kevin said. “Things were being made ready anyway so that if Räikkönen does want to drag us all into another fight, we are ready. But I think it is important we find out for sure first.”

“Things were being made ready?” Nico asked.

Kevin nodded. “We’ve been waiting for something to happen since the war finished. We’re ready, Nico. That is not something you have to worry about.”

“You didn’t think the peace would keep?” Nico asked.

“We thought we needed to be prepared if it wasn’t.”


	69. In which there is lots of sad stuff. I am sorry.

“I’m afraid it isn’t good news.”

Kimi could feel himself going light headed, but there was no way he was going to show it. He was better than this.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

His entire mouth was dry, but he couldn’t change that without looking like an idiot, so he was just going to have to cope. His fingers dug into the underside of the chair so hard he was sure he’d snap it in two any second now.

“We’re still running more tests so that we can know for sure but…” The nurse tried to explain what was going on, but all Kimi heard was a piercing beep through his ear. The odd word floated in and out of his consciousness and the overall impression didn’t look good.

The nurse stopped talking and smiled gently, resting a hand on Kimi’s arm.

“Are you alright, Mr Räikkönen?”

“He has to be ok,” Kimi said, quietly.

This was all his fault. Whilst he’d been waiting, the night before had seeped into his head as the hangover cleared. The phone call, the visit. If he had just let Sebastian in, none of this would have happened.

“We’re doing everything we can,” the nurse said, gently. “He’s in the best place.”

“But he _has_ to be ok,” Kimi said. He wasn’t looking at the nurse. He wasn’t sure where he was looking but he couldn’t deal with her sympathetic smile.

She just patted his arm gently and stood again.

“Wait,” Kimi called, just as she was about to leave. “Can I see him?”

“He isn’t awake at the moment,” the nurse said.

“Can I see him?” he asked again. He could feel Lewis and Dan and Daniil all staring at him but he didn’t care. He already felt about two inches tall and they couldn’t say anything that would make him feel any worse.

“I can’t advise it,” the nurse said. “You’re better off staying put until the main bulk of the tests are completed.”

“What if he wakes up?” Kimi asked.

The nurse bit her lip and crouched down in front of him again. When she rested her hand on his arm once more, he shrugged it away. He didn’t need her sympathy. He just needed to know Sebastian was going to be ok.

“It is unlikely that is going to happen anytime soon,” the nurse said.

“You cannot know that,” Kimi said. “You have not done all your tests yet. You cannot know that.”

“No,” the nurse said, patiently. “We can’t. But we know what we can expect.”

Kimi nodded and the nurse stood again. This wasn’t her fault. It wasn’t her fault that he couldn’t just be a decent human being for once in his life.

“One more thing,” he called after her when she tried to leave again. There was one more thing he needed to ask and he wasn’t sure if the nurse was the right person to ask but he needed to know. “Do you know… do you know how this happened?”

“At the moment, it looks like a hit and run,” the nurse said.

“Yes, but do you know if it was intentional?” Kimi asked.

“If someone purposefully meant to hit him?” the nurse asked. “We can’t really tell that.”

“No. Did he intend to get hit?”

“You think he may have tried to kill himself?” the nurse asked, a little confused.

“He has done it in the past,” Kimi explained as best he could. “A lot has happened recently and I was not as supportive as I should have been.”

“Come on,” Dan said. “He wouldn’t have done this to himself, would he? Not with Emily?”

“It is possible,” the nurse said. “Although we won’t know for sure unless he wakes up.”

“ _Until_ he wakes up,” Kimi corrected her.

“Mr Räikkönen,” the nurse said. “We have to face the possibility that Sebastian won’t wake up.”

Kimi shook his head again. He was not going to face that possibility. That was not going to happen.

The nurse sighed and gave her comforting smile again, but its effect missed Kimi by a mile.

“Is there anything else?”

Kimi shook his head again. Even if there was anything else to ask, his mind had gone blank. There was a possibility Sebastian might not wake up, and there was a possibility he may have intended to put himself there.

“When does visiting open on the other wards?” Dan asked just as the nurse was about to leave again.

“About an hour,” the nurse said.

“Right,” Dan said, watching the nurse leave.

Kimi turned to him.

“We should let Hanna know what’s going on,” Dan said. “I don’t know when she’s getting out of here, but when she does she’s going to look after this one.”

He nodded down to Emily, who was napping on his lap. He’d thanked god already she’d gone to sleep, no idea what he would have done with her otherwise. She was too young to understand what was going on, and Dan had a feeling that was probably a good thing.

“What happened to Hanna?” Kimi asked. Nobody had begun to explain that to him yet. All he knew was that she was in hospital and pregnant.

“We found her yesterday passed out,” Dan said. “She’d drunk a lot. Started drinking just after you collected Sebastian’s stuff from her and it didn’t look like she’d stopped since. She isn’t taking this as well as Sebastian thought, Kimi.”

“I should go and see her,” Kimi said, trying to get his breathing back to normal and tear his hands away from the bottom of the chair.

He liked Hanna. He’d always liked Hanna. He wanted things to work for them, for Sebastian’s sake as well as Emily’s.

“Do you think that is a good idea?” Daniil asked.

“I need to do something,” Kimi said.

 

What if?

It just kept going around in Felipe’s head. What if she’d hurt him? What if they couldn’t get him back? What if he’d never seen him again? Rob had put all that at risk. And for what? Felipe didn’t even know.

Downstairs, Rob was making pancakes. They’d already had breakfast, but he’d decided they needed a special treat today. From up the stairs, Felipe could hear the pair of them laughing and could imagine Rob was doing something incredibly stupid to distract Felipinho. It had Felipe smiling a little, but it wasn’t enough.

By the time Felipe came down the stairs, struggling to stay upright and bring the bags down at the same time, Felipinho was munching on the pancakes in front of the TV. Rob came into the hallway to see what the noise was, flour in his hair and a grin on his face. The grin fell almost instantly.

“What’s wrong?”

“You let her take him,” Felipe said again, leaning against the wall to stop himself falling over.

“Felipe, please don’t…”

“I have to,” Felipe said, quietly. “If she comes for him again, you’re just going to hand him over again. I need to get away.”

“Get away where?” Rob asked. “You’ve nowhere else to go.”

“I’ll find somewhere,” Felipe snapped. “I did last time.”

“Then let me come with you,” Rob said, quickly. “Give me a couple of days, so I sort things out here and I’ll come with you.”

“You have already shown you care more about this place than you do me,” Felipe said. And it was true. They couldn’t be together, _because_ _of_ _this place_. He couldn’t tell anybody, _because_ _of_ _this place_. And he understood – of course he understood – but that didn’t mean he enjoyed it.

“You’re not well,” Rob tried again. There were a million reasons he could think of for not leaving. Felipe wasn’t thinking straight. If he were, he’d think of them too. “You’re not. Just stay until the doctors give you the all clear. I can have the Houses taken care of by then and we can all start again.”

“Do not make this any harder than it already is,” Felipe said, quietly. “Please.”

“You’re not making any sense,” Rob cried. “After everything, everything we’ve been through, you’re just giving up. You’re leaving. Over nothing.”

“You abandoned my son,” Felipe shouted back.

“ _I did not have a choice,_ ” Rob cried. He ran his fingers through his hair, flour falling from them. “Felipe, I didn’t have a choice. If I’d done anything, I would have ended up in prison too and what good would that have done?”

“Felipinho?” Felipe called into the room. “Felipinho, come and say goodbye to Rob.”

“Don’t,” Rob said, shaking his head and sending more of the flour falling onto his shoulders. “Felipe, please.”

He couldn’t just end it like this. Not after everything that had happened. He couldn’t just do this.

“What’s wrong this time?” Felipinho asked, coming into the hallway with the pancake still in his hand. Rob was crying, which definitely meant something was wrong, and he wasn’t going to let them tell him otherwise this time.

“Say goodbye to Rob,” Felipe said again.

“Don’t let her tear us apart, Felipe,” Rob snapped. “She’s already ruined your life once. Don’t let her do it again.”

“Where are we going?” Felipinho asked, eyeing the cases.

“We’re just going away for a little while,” Felipe said, gently. “Go and get your coat and things. The taxi will be here soon.”

“She said you would do this,” Rob said, before he could stop himself. “She said you would take him and leave. Don’t prove her right. Please, Felipe.”

He sounded so desperate, he knew, and if his parents could see him now they’d be laughing and telling him how right they were all along. He _was_ pathetic. But he didn’t care. If being desperate and pathetic meant Felipe stayed here, he didn’t care.

“I don’t want to go,” Felipinho said, folding his arms. His bottom lip wobbled, threatening to let the water works start. “I want to stay with you _and_ Rob.”

“Well you can’t,” Felipe said, trying not to cry himself.

“Why not?”

“Put on your coat, Felipinho,” Felipe snapped.

There was the beep of a car horn outside. The taxi.

“I’m sorry Rob.”

“If you’re sorry, then why are you doing it?” Rob asked. “She isn’t coming after you anymore. You don’t need to leave. And if you want to, wait a while. Wait and I will come with you.”

“I just need to clear my head, Rob,” Felipe said, quietly. “Maybe I will come back? When things start to make sense again?”

He smiled weakly, not sure what else he could say, and pulled at the bags he’d barely managed to get down the stairs. How was he supposed to take care of himself and a child when he could barely sort out a bunch of bags?

“You can’t do this Felipe,” Rob tried.

“I can and I am going to,” Felipe snapped, dragging the bags to the front door. “Felipinho, put on your coat and say goodbye to Rob.”

“No.”

“I am going to take these bags to the taxi,” Felipe said. “And if you have not gotten your coat on by the time I get back, we’re leaving it here.”

“You can’t make me,” Felipinho snapped back. He sat on the floor in front of the door with his arms and legs crossed. He was not going anywhere.

It was true he couldn’t make him. He was having difficulty moving the bags, let alone a kicking and screaming child.

Felipe turned hopefully to Rob for help but Rob shook his head.

“He wants to stay here and so do you, Felipe,” Rob said. “Please. You can let things settle here. You’re not making any sense now. If you go now, you’re just putting yourself and Pea in danger and I know you don’t want to do that.”

“Do not tell me what I do and don’t want,” Felipe snapped. “Felipinho, move out of the way.”

“No.”

The car outside beeped the horn again, the driver growing impatient.

“You said I abandoned you before and I did,” Rob said. “But only because I didn’t have a choice. Now I do. And I am not abandoning you again.”


	70. In which things are left unresolved

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who has been reading this and leaving comments and kudos. You're all stars. :)

“Kimi?”

Hanna looked a lot different to the last time Kimi had seen her, pale and sickly. But the worry on her face was just as Kimi remembered. If he’d been paying attention when he’d gone to collect Sebastian’s things, he probably would have seen this. He would have been able to stop this from happening.

“What are you doing here?”

Kimi came a little closer to the bed, not sure if he should even be here really, but he needed to do something.

“You are pregnant?”

“Sebastian told you then,” Hanna said, quietly. “Yeah. A couple of weeks.”

She looked down at her still flat stomach, still not quite able to believe what she’d done to it, the baby.

“I’m sorry,” she said, quietly.

“What for?”

“For this,” she said, waving about at the hospital. “For being an idiot. And for getting pregnant. And for everything. I mean, I didn’t _mean_ to get pregnant. But I still did.”

“It is ok,” Kimi said, gently.

“And I get that you’re going to be a part of its life,” Hanna said. “And Emily’s life. I do get that. I wish it wasn’t true, but it is, and I’m going to have to deal with that.”

Kimi swallowed hard. Being a part of Sebastian’s children’s lives was only really going to happen if Sebastian was here too. He knew he was going to have to tell Hanna about that at some point, but he didn’t know if he could. If he said it aloud, then that meant it was true.

“Seb’s in hospital,” Kimi began. It seemed like as good a place as any to start.

“What? Why?”

“There was an accident,” Kimi said. “A hit and run.”

At least he _thought_ it was an accident. He hoped it was an accident. He didn’t know what he would do if it wasn’t an accident, if Sebastian had meant for it to happen.

“Is he alright?” Hanna asked. Kimi’s silence seemed to give her all the answer she needed. “Kimi, please say he’s alright.”

“They don’t know,” Kimi said. He wasn’t looking at Hanna, or at the way her hand rested protectively on her stomach. There were flowers on the table beside the bed opposite Hanna’s and he focused on them. “They say there is a possibility he won’t wake up.”

“He has to be alright though,” Hanna said. “I can’t do this by myself. I can barely do it now. Where’s Emily? Is she hurt?”

“She’s fine. She wasn’t with him,” Kimi said. “She’s with Dan.”

There was little comfort in it though. Hanna wasn’t sure what to say or where to look, waiting for someone to tell her this wasn’t happening.

“He’ll be ok,” she said again. “He was ok after what Rosberg did. He’ll be ok after this.”

That didn’t make any sense to Kimi but if it was going to make Hanna feel better he wasn’t going to take that away from her. He was glad she had more faith in Sebastian than he did.

“When did it happen?” Hanna asked. “Do you know who it was?”

“Last night,” Kimi said. “And no. Not yet. But I will find out.”

He wasn’t sure how he was going to keep that promise, but he knew he would. Someone in the city would know who did this. Someone would know what had happened. He would find out.

 

“Are you happy now?” Felipe asked, watching the taxi leave from the front window.

He was trapped here. Not trapped like he had been before. No, he was not going to compare the two situations because they were not the same. But he was still trapped.

“No,” Rob said, seriously.

Felipinho still sat in front of the front door, knees tucked up to his face, crying. That problem would be easy to solve. No amount of chocolate and biscuits and pancakes was going to make Felipe feel any better though.

“If there was anything I could have done before, I would have done it,” Rob said, quietly. He wiped the tears from Felipe’s face, but Felipe wasn’t looking at him. “I would rather die than see him hurt, Felipe. You know that.”

Felipe shook his head and pulled away from Rob.

“Do you remember when he got chicken pox on New Year’s Day?” Rob asked. “And we both freaked out because we thought he had meningitis? And we had to take him to the hospital because nowhere else was open?”

Felipe didn’t say anything, but he remembered. Of course he remembered.

“Do you remember when we first started going out, and I’d promised to take you on a walk?” Rob asked. “And it was pissing it down with rain? It had been for about a week. But you wanted that walk, and I promised. So we wrapped Pea up in as many blankets as we could find and stuck him in the pushchair and we were the only people in that park that day. And it finally stopped raining.”

Felipe didn’t react, doing his best to ignore Rob, but Rob could tell when he wasn’t listening and that wasn’t now. He shuffled a little closer and Felipe didn’t move.

“Do you remember shunsine?” Rob asked.

Felipe huffed a little laugh, because he couldn’t not laugh when he thought about that, Felipinho trying to say sunshine so badly and Rob and Felipe trying not to laugh at him.

“You can’t go,” Rob said, slipping his arm around Felipe’s waste. “I can’t live without you two. Tell me what to do to prove that and I’ll do it. Whatever it is.”

Felipe sighed and fell into Rob, resting his head on the taller man’s shoulder with his eyes closed.

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s ok.”

“It isn’t ok,” Felipe whispered. “I just, went a bit mad.”

“It’s understandable,” Rob said, gently, running his hand through Felipe’s hair. “I would be angry too.”

“It’s ok, though,” Felipe said. “She didn’t hurt him and we have him back. None of what happened matters anymore.”

Rob closed his eyes and rested his head against Felipe’s. He was right. He didn’t need to know the woman hit Felipinho. There was nothing they could do to change that and none of it mattered.

The peace was disturbed by the child in question jumping onto Rob’s lap and wrapping his arms around him.

“We’re not going anymore?” he asked.

Felipe squinted, his eyes too heavy to be opened properly. “No. No, I was just being silly.”

“Good,” Felipinho said, holding onto Rob tighter, just in case they changed their minds. “Do you want pancakes now, Daddy?”

 

_We have to face the possibility that Sebastian won’t wake up._

“You have to wake up. Come on, Seb. You are better than this. You can fight this. When you wake up, we are all going to be here for you. Me, Dan, Hanna. We are all here to support you. Things are hard, I know, Seb. And I have not done anything to make them any easier for you. I am a horrible person, I know, but you cannot pay for that, Seb. Listen to me. You have to keep fighting. I will change. I am going to. This whole thing has gotten out of hand. When you wake up, I will be a better person. I will be there to support you, like you needed me to. There will be no running away. When you wake up, things will be better. I promise. But please, please just wake up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah... sorry for leaving everything... There is a part two though! (coming soon). Until then, I have some questions about to plot which if you could answer would be great.  
> 1\. Does Nico Stay and work with Kevin or follow Jenson’s advice and run?  
> 2\. Does Hanna Keep the baby?  
> 3\. Does Dan go to tell the authorities about Rob and Felipe?  
> 4\. Is “The Lady” gone for good?  
> And this would really help for writing part two.  
> Please thank you.   
> And sorry again for the mess

**Author's Note:**

> Any criticism greatly appreciated. If you like it, that's brilliant. If not, that is completely understandable.


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